Penguins score 5 in 3rd period, defeat Flames 

PITTSBURGH -- Bryan Rust and Reilly Smith each scored in the first 41 seconds of the third period, the first two of four straight goals from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 5-2 win against the Calgary Flames at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.

Rust scored twice, Jake Guentzel had a goal and two assists, and Evgeni Malkin and Smith each had a goal and an assist for the Penguins (2-1-0), who won 4-0 at the Washington Capitals on Friday. Kris Letang added two assists, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 34 saves in his first start for Pittsburgh after signing a one-year, $1.5 million contract on July 1.

“I thought we were stiffer on the puck in the third,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We just made better decisions on the entries. We ended up scoring off that opening draw. We got a lot of juice off that, for sure.”

Matt Coronato scored his first NHL goal, and Jonathan Huberdeau also scored for the Flames (1-1-0). Jacob Markstrom made 25 saves.

"The hard part is we had a good first two periods, played a good solid road game to start. You let momentum get away from you,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. “Whether we let it get away or we kind of gave it to them, however you want to put it, it happened.”

Rust tied it 1-1 after Letang sent a shot off the end boards, collecting the loose puck for a wrist shot at the right post 18 seconds into the third. Smith, acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights via trade on June 28, scored in a second straight game 23 seconds later to put Pittsburgh ahead 2-1 with a shot from the slot off a cross-ice pass from Malkin.

Guentzel made it 3-1 at 5:50 with his first goal of the season, a one-timer from the right circle set up by Letang.

“It feels good,” Guentzel said. “We had a couple chances. Missed an easy one in the first. It’s nice to be able to get one and, hopefully, it snowballs from here.”

Malkin took a drop pass from Smith and shot under Markstrom’s blocker, extending the lead to 4-1 at 14:14. He has six points (two goals, four assists) in three games this season.

The goal was Malkin’s 473rd in the NHL, tied with Alexander Mogilny for third-most by a Russian player behind Alex Ovechkin (822) and Sergei Fedorov (483).

“I didn’t think about that,” Malkin said. “I try to catch Ovechkin maybe, but it’s not easy. I did my best. I hope when I’m retired, I look back and I say I did everything for myself and just, right now, I don’t think about points or anything. Just do my best.”

Huberdeau cut it to 4-2 on a backhand at 16:05 for his first goal of the season.

“We can't let up against a team like that,” Huberdeau said. “A couple mental mistakes that we had in the third. They took advantage of that. I thought, overall, our work ethic was great tonight. We worked hard. It's just some mistakes that kind of turned the puck into our net.”

Rust scored an empty-net goal with 22 seconds remaining for the 5-2 final.

Coronato, the No. 13 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, put Calgary ahead 1-0 on a power play at 18:22 of the second period, scoring a one-timer from the bottom of the left face-off circle. It was the 20-year-old’s first point in three NHL games.

“I think it's kind of hard to think about it the way we came out and played in the third,” Coronato said. “I think we just didn't do a great job managing pucks. Couple, maybe, mental mistakes that we'll definitely clean up. It's important stuff. We'll have to get better.”

NOTES: The goals from Rust and Smith in the opening 41 seconds of the third were the second-fastest two to start a period in Penguins history. On Dec. 6, 1980, George Ferguson scored 17 seconds into the first period before Greg Malone scored at 29 seconds. … Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin became the first player selected in the 2015 NHL Draft to play 600 games. He had one assist in 23:28 of ice time. … Guentzel has six points (one goal, five assists) in three games this season. He was originally expected to miss at least five games after having right ankle surgery Aug. 2. … Sidney Crosby had the secondary assist on Guentzel’s goal to reach 1,506 points (553 goals, 953 assists) in the NHL, tying Ray Bourque (1,506 points; 395 goals, 1,111 assists for the Boston Bruins) for the sixth-most with one team in NHL history.