Malkin, Guentzel help Penguins send Red Wings to 11th loss in row

DETROIT --The Detroit Red Wings lost for the 11th straight time, 5-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.

The Red Wings (7-21-3) trailed 2-0 after the first period and 4-1 early in the third before rallying late to make it 4-3.
"We really didn't get going until it was too late," Red Wings center Dylan Larkin said. "We weren't in the game as much they were early, and it cost us. We did some good things in the third period, but we have to start that a lot earlier."
WATCH: [All Penguins vs. Red Wings highlights]
Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel each had a goal and two assists, and Matt Murray made 25 saves for the Penguins (17-9-4), who won their third game in a row.
"[Malkin] is playing at such a high caliber right now that it is fun to be a part of it," said Guentzel, who normally plays on Sidney Crosby's line; the Pittsburgh center is out at least three more weeks after having core muscle surgery. "I didn't realize how skilled he is -- the fakes, the passes and all the little things he does. You don't really see that from the bench. You have to be on the ice with him."

The Red Wings are 0-9-2 in their past 11 and have lost nine straight in regulation. They have been outscored 33-8 in their past seven.
"I think getting those late goals and finding a way to ultimately make it a tight game will be good for our confidence," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. "It's big because we've had this stretch where we haven't been scoring at all.
"But we've also got to find a way to keep the puck out of our net."
Jonathan Bernier allowed four goals on 23 shots for the Red Wings before being replaced by Eric Comrie at 9:22 of the third period. Comrie made the save on all four shots he faced in his Detroit debut.
The Penguins took a 1-0 lead at 5:37 when Guentzel scored from the edge of the crease between Bernier's legs.
"That was a great pass by [Kris Letang], when I was trying to get to the back door," Guentzel said. "The puck went in off my skate, but I'll take it."
Chad Ruhwedel made it 2-0 at 17:24 with a point shot through traffic.

Robby Fabbri's power-play goal at 6:02 of the second period pulled the Red Wings within 2-1 and ended the Penguins shutout streak at 148:56.
Malkin's 399th NHL goal made it 3-1 at 10:42. Guentzel had his second assist on the play, giving him and Malkin three points each.
"We hadn't played much together before, but Coach (Mike Sullivan) has had us together since [Crosby's] injury," Malkin said. "We're learning each other. Now I know how he plays, and he knows how I play."
Dominik Kahun extended the Pittsburgh lead to 4-1 at 1:38 of the third, four seconds after a Penguins power play expired.

Filip Hronek cut it to 4-2 at 13:00, and the Red Wings pulled Comrie when they went on the power play with 4:36 to play.
Larkin's power-play goal pulled Detroit within 4-3 with 3:04 left, but John Marino scored into an empty net on the man-advantage with nine seconds remaining for the 5-3 final.
"When you are out there with [Letang], you just try to keep things simple and get him the puck as much as you can," Marino said of the fellow defenseman, who assisted on the goal. "You have to be aware of what he's doing, because he makes so many great plays."

They said it

"I'm thrilled with [Malkin]'s game right now. The offense is obvious to everyone, but he's winning face-offs and we're using him in D-zone situations. He's always going to be a guy with instincts who goes off the grid at times. That's what makes him unique, and we don't want to discourage it, but we're really impressed at how he is playing within the team concept." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan on center Evgeni Malkin
"I've said many times that I think a team playing for the second straight night has an advantage in the first period, but there really wasn't much going on at either end tonight. It didn't feel like we were on our heels at all, but the Malkin line is really good and scored two goals. We were solid, but that's not good enough." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill on Detroit falling behind 2-0 in the first period against the Penguins, who defeated the Arizona Coyotes 2-0 on Friday

Need to know

Malkin has 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in 19 games against Detroit. … The Red Wings hadn't scored more than two goals in any of their previous six games, including five when they didn't score more than one. … The game was Detroit's first in five days.

What's next

Penguins: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ATTSN-PT, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)
Red Wings:At the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, FS-D, NHL.TV)