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By STEPHEN WHYNO
Justin Brazeau netted two goals, while Arturs Silovs saved all 25 attempts he faced to secure his first regular-season NHL shutout, leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams.
Dan Muse won his debut as Penguins coach with his predecessor, Mike Sullivan, on the other bench running his first game with the Rangers. Sullivan guided Pittsburgh to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and ’17 as part of a nearly decade-long run there before parting ways in April.
Brazeau and Silovs were also playing for the Penguins for the first time. Brazeau signed as a free agent, while Silovs joined in a trade from Vancouver.
Evgeni Malkin led off his 20th season in the league by setting up Brazeau’s goal. Malkin beat Vincent Trocheck on an offensive zone faceoff to get the puck to Brazeau, who was alone in front and roofed a backhander past Igor Shesterkin.
Brazeau’s first goal with 32 seconds remaining in the first came near the end of a period that Pittsburgh controlled the play for much of the time. Silovs blockered away a shot from Alexis Lafrenière in the final seconds of an early Rangers power play but did not have to make too many other spectacular saves to get the win.
With Shesterkin pulled for an extra attacker, Brazeau had an empty-netter with 2:12 left, and Blake Lizotte sealed it with another 20 seconds later.
Mika Zibanejad, who Sullivan put on new captain J.T. Miller’s right wing to start the season, was one of the most noticeable players for New York. Zibanejad missed the net on a couple of scoring chances but also had a game-high seven shots on goal.
Defeating the Rangers gave the Penguins something to celebrate on opening night as Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang made some history. They became the first trio in the four major North American men’s professional sports leagues to play 20 seasons together with the same team.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
Rangers: Visit Buffalo on Thursday night.
