Malkin made it 4-0 at 12:48. He slipped in from the blue line, took a pass from Riley Smith all by himself on target, evaded Sorokin’s blocker and scored on the short side.
Malkin scored his second goal of the period on a backdoor pass from Letang to make it 5-0 at 16:06.
Radim Zohorna converted a backhand rebound from a 2-on-1 with Valtteri Pustinen at the crease to extend the lead to 6-0 at 17:13.
It was the first time Pittsburgh had scored six points in a first period on the road since March 21, 2000, when they scored six points in the second period and won 8-2 against the Islanders.
“I thought the team played a great game. We had a well-constructed game and stuck to our plan,” Jarry said. “It helps us execute. I think that puts us in a good position. You see how many goals we score in and around the net. That’s the secret to success. I think.”
Puustinen scored his first NHL goal at 9:48 of the third period to make it 7-0. He buried a one-timer on a diagonal cross-ice pass from Letang from the left circle.
“It’s always fun when you’re the guy who scores the first goal in the NHL,” Letang said. “I think it’s Sid. [Crosby] I had them all and they were cool. It was a special moment for the player and you could tell just by looking at his face how special it was. It was cool to do. ”
Note: Dale Hawerchuk is the only player in NHL history to record five assists in one period, a feat he did on March 6, 1984, in the Winnipeg Jets’ 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. First player to have six assists in a game since April 4, 1986 (Gary Suter). … Raquel didn’t score in the first 19 games of the season, but he scored in back-to-back games. … Pettersson’s four assists were an NHL career high.
