National Hockey League
Pittsburgh 7, Ottawa 3
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Where: PPG PAINTS Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees: T.J. Luxmore, Justin St. Pierre
Linesmen: Greg Devorski, Bryan Pancich
Attendance: 18455

Bryan Rust had a hat trick Tuesday as the Pittsburgh Penguins topped the visiting Ottawa Senators 7-3 to end a six-game losing streak.

Pittsburgh's top line combined for eight points: Sidney Crosby and Jason Zucker each had a goal and two assists, and Conor Sheary had a goal and an assist. Crosby's second assist made him the sixth-fastest in NHL history to 800, in 980 games.

John Marino also scored and Evgeni Malkin had four assists for Pittsburgh. Goaltender Matt Murray made 23 saves.

Jayce Hawryluk, Brady Tkachuk and Connor Brown scored, Colin White had two assists and Craig Anderson made 28 saves for Ottawa, which had won two straight.

Ottawa lost center Artem Anisimov early in the first after Malkin got shoved into him by Senators teammate Bobby Ryan.

Marino gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead 48 seconds into regulation. The rookie defenseman -- making his return after missing 11 games because of facial surgery -- scored from above the right circle with Rust providing a screen.

Sheary's pass through the crease went in off the stick of Ottawa defenseman Mike Reilly to make it 2-0 at 1:39. It was Sheary's first goal in four games since he was reacquired in a trade.

Hawryluk pulled the Senators to within 2-1 at 16:24 of the first. Reilly's shot from the top of the left circle bounced off Murray's back, and Hawryluk batted the puck in.

With 44.9 seconds left in the first, Rust boosted Pittsburgh's lead to 3-1 with his 25th goal. He scored on a power play from the slot through traffic.

Crosby had the only goal of the second, on a sharp-angle shot at 17:21 to make it 4-1.

Zucker pushed it to 5-1 just 36 seconds into the fourth, on his own rebound.

Tkachuk deflected a point shot by Nikita Zaitsev past Murray 33 seconds later to make it 5-2.

At 11:28, Brown cut it to 5-3 when he wristed a shot far side from above the left hash marks.

Rust scored on a rebound at 13:29 and at 17:10 off the rush for his third career hat trick.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Ottawa   Pittsburgh
Colin White 2 Points Evgeni Malkin 4
Connor Brown 1 Goals Bryan Rust 3
Colin White 2 Assists Evgeni Malkin 4
N/A Power Play Goals Bryan Rust 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Craig Anderson .800 Save Percentage Matt Murray .885
Craig Anderson 28 Saves Matt Murray 23
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Ottawa 26 3 0-4 4-5 10 41
Pittsburgh 35 7 1-5 4-4 8 33
Upcoming Games
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Buffalo. The Penguins have a W/L % of .595 after a win and .571 after a loss.
  • Ottawa will play their next game at home against NY Islanders. The Senators have a W/L % of .261 after a win and .386 after a loss.