The Pittsburgh Penguins picked up a lopsided home win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Pittsburgh routed the Panthers 9-4, and although Florida won’t be making the playoffs this season, the Panthers are the reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. It was a stellar win for Pittsburgh, and star forward Evgeni Malkin believes it proves they have a great team.
“We have a great team right now, you know? We played hard,” Malkin said postgame on Saturday. “Points (are) important, and two points for the team is important, because it’s huge for us. We’re fighting for playoffs, and I think it’s important to fight for maybe second place, to start at home.”
Pittsburgh is holding onto the second spot in the Metro division, and the Penguins are playing great hockey ahead of the playoffs.
The Penguins were led by Malkin who scored three goals and an assist, while Erik Karlsson had a goal and three assists. It was a stellar performance from Pittsburgh who will face Florida again on Sunday and Malkin expects the Panthers to have a chip on their shoulder.
“Huge game tomorrow, because we know this team win two Cups in two years, and they fight tomorrow, for sure,” Malkin said.
The Penguins enter play with a record of 39-22-16.
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