Hornqvist's three points power Penguins past Red Wings

PITTSBURGH -- Patric Hornqvist scored two goals and had an assist for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 5-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.

Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist, and Matt Murray made 27 saves for the Penguins (36-15-6).
"Sometimes you get lucky out there, and you keep shooting," Hornqvist said. "It was one of those afternoons. It's always fun to score."
WATCH: [All Red Wings vs. Penguins highlights]
The Penguins moved to within one point of the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh is 11-3-1 in its past 15 games.
"I think we're getting back to the game that has brought us success most of the year," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I still think there's areas where we've got to tighten up in order to be a little bit more stingy defensively and harder to play against. We're working on those details with the guys.
"We're playing the game hard. We just have to make sure we play the game a little smarter at critical times during the game. For the most part, I think we're trending the right way."

Jimmy Howard made 12 saves on 16 shots before being pulled in the second period for Detroit (14-43-4), which has been outscored 59-23 while losing 14 of its past 16 games. Howard is 0-17-2 in his past 19 decisions. Jonathan Bernier made 18 saves in relief after making 37 in a 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
"I think this shows a lot about peoples' character, guys' character," Red Wings forward Luke Glendening said. "It's easy to be happy, do things the right way, when things are going well. But it's hard when things are going poorly. It's easy to point fingers, but we're all part of the problem. We have to look within ourselves and see how we can be part of the solution."
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said, "We had the puck more than we have, did more good things than bad. Sometimes the score indicates the game, sometimes it doesn't. I didn't think it did tonight. … I understand it looks bad, 5-1 on the scoreboard. We got beat bad, but that's not the way the game went."
Valtteri Filppula put the Red Wings ahead 1-0 at 5:37 of the first period.
Sam Lafferty tied it 1-1 at 7:58, when he took a shot from just outside the crease that snuck through a scrum before crossing the line. Kris Letang gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead with a slap shot from the point on the power play at 14:35 of the first.

Hornqvist made it 3-1 on a snap shot from the left circle at 2:53 of the second period.
Crosby extended the lead to 4-1 with a one-timer at 7:55 of the second. He has 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 12 games since returning from core muscle surgery.
Hornqvist got his second goal on a wrist shot, making it 5-1 at 11:53 of the second.

They said it

"The schedule this month, we knew coming in that it's time where we're in the thick of it with how many games we have. We have to find a way to get some wins and win together and get on a little streak. Right now, the streak's going the other way. I think we need to get back home and grind out a win." -- Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin
"Anybody can beat anybody in this League, so I thought we did a good job. Our first period wasn't maybe quite as solid as we wanted it to be, but we were really good after that."-- Penguins goalie Matt Murray

Need to know

Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek left at 7:24 of the second period after being hit in the head by a slap shot from Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson. Blashill did not provide an update after the game. … Detroit defenseman Trevor Daley did not play after sustaining an upper-body injury against the Bruins on Saturday. … Penguins forwards Dominik Kahun (concussion) and Nick Bjugstad (core muscle surgery) each skated on their own before the game Sunday. … Pittsburgh forward Zach Aston-Reese did not play in the third period after being held without a shot on goal in 7:05 during the first two periods. He was being evaluated for a lower-body injury after the game, Sullivan said. … The Red Wings had a 1-0 lead in each of their past three games. They lost those three games by the combined score of 13-3. … Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin's seven-game point streak against the Red Wings ended. He had 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) during that span, including five points (one goal, four assists) in the first two games against Detroit this season.

What's next

Red Wings: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-D, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)
Penguins:Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS, ATTSN-PT)