Zucker scores late in 3rd, Penguins rally past Predators

NASHVILLE -- Jason Zucker broke a tie with 1:39 remaining in the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to defeat the Nashville Predators 3-1 at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.

Zucker made it 2-1 when he scored from the bottom of the right face-off circle after Nashville defenseman Ryan McDonagh spun away from the end boards and turned the puck over. Bryan Rust scored an empty-net goal at 19:53 for the 3-1 final.
"On that one, it was a good forecheck," Zucker said about his goal. "[Rickard Rakell and Evgeni Malkin] both held onto pucks at some point there [and] It just kind of popped out. Honestly, I didn't even look at the net, I was just trying to get it on net, and it happened to go in. Kind of a lucky one for me there."

Sidney Crosby also scored, and Tristan Jarry made 24 saves for the Penguins (30-21-9), who won their third in a row following a four-game losing streak.
"I think we're getting there," Crosby said. "I think we'd still like to limit the chances against and make sure we're not putting ourselves in bad spots just from our own doing, make teams work for their chances if they're going to get them."
Mark Jankowski scored, and Juuse Saros made 31 saves for the Predators (29-23-6), who had won three straight.
"We kind of went toe-to-toe the whole game," Nashville captain Roman Josi said. "It was kind of a back-and-forth game. We had some chances. They had some chances. Just couldn't find a way to win it, but I felt like our effort was good. We played well."
Jankowski, who was recalled from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League earlier Tuesday, gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 7:01 of the third period. He intercepted an outlet pass by Kris Letang at the top of the circles, skated down the slot and scored backhand-forehand.
"When I got the puck on the turnover there, I looked up and saw I had some time," Jankowski said. "So, I thought I would see what I could do, and just waited out the goalie there."
Crosby tied it 1-1 at 11:00, scoring on a breakaway after receiving a stretch pass from Brock McGinn.
"I see an opening and sometimes guys get time with the puck and other times they don't," Crosby said. "[McGinn] made an unbelievable pass to me. It was flat, right on the tape and I had lots of time to make a play from there."

Nashville outshot Pittsburgh 17-9 in the first period before being outshot 17-5 in the second.
"They get a deflection, it goes right on their stick and then Crosby split the defensemen]. That's a tough one to defend," Predators coach John Hynes said. "I wouldn't necessarily say it's a breakdown. That was a break. We had the same thing in the first period. They scored on theirs. We didn't score on ours."
Earlier Tuesday,
[Nashville acquired defenseman Tyson Barrie
, forward prospect
Reid Schaefer
, a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft from the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman Mattias Ekholm and a sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft.
Ekholm, who was selected by the Predators in the fourth round (No. 102) of the 2009 NHL Draft, played 791 games over 12 seasons.
"Originally when [we got] the news, it was close to the game, when everyone was coming back to the rink," Hynes said. "So, I think some guys were shocked it happened. But I think at this point, with what's going on, I don't think it's a surprise."
The trade came two days after the Predators sent forward Tanner Jeannot to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and forward Nino Niederreiter to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
"Those situations are always difficult," Hynes said. "We're losing great guys, and we're losing good players. But on the positive side, I thought that our group tonight deserved better than what we got."
NOTES:Defenseman Cal Foote had one hit and two blocked shot in 12:14 of ice time in his Nashville debut after being acquired from Tampa Bay on Feb. 26. … Predators forward Luke Evangelista had two shots on goal and one hit in 14:28 in his NHL debut. He was selected in the second round (No. 42) of the 2020 NHL Draft. … Nashville forward Filip Forsberg missed his eighth straight game after sustaining an upper-body injury against the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 11. Earlier Tuesday, Hynes said his return is "imminent."