MONTREAL (AP) — Bryan Rust scored three goals and the Pittsburgh Penguins scored six times in the third period to rout the Montreal Canadiens 9-2 on Thursday night.
Rust scored twice in the second period and again midway through the third for his sixth career hat trick. Rickard Rakell had two goals and two assists for Pittsburgh.
Kris Letang, Anthony Beauvillier, Matt Nieto and Noel Acciari also scored in the third as fans at Bell Centre booed and left early.
Sidney Crosby had three assists to reach 1,026 in his career and surpass Gordie Howe (1,023) for fifth most with one NHL franchise.
Tristan Jarry stopped 21 shots, bouncing back after allowing five goals in Pittsburgh’s 6-2 loss to Colorado on Tuesday. The Penguins have won six of eight.
Nick Suzuki and Joel Armia scored for Montreal, which wrapped up a 3-2 homestand.
Sam Montembeault made 20 saves on 26 shots in his fifth straight start before getting the hook after allowing three third-period goals. Cayden Primeau stopped four of seven in relief.
Takeaways
Penguins: Rust scored twice in a span of 3:24 midway through the second period as Pittsburgh built a 3-1 lead. The Penguins entered the third with a 3-2 advantage.
Canadiens: Montreal failed to convert several scoring chances, including breakaways from Christian Dvorak and Alex Newhook.
Key moment
Letang set up Rust on the power play 4:18 into the first period to tie the game at 1-all. The play made up for a costly turnover that led to Suzuki’s opening goal two minutes in.
Key stat
Lane Hutson’s franchise-record point streak by a rookie Montreal defenseman ended at seven games. He set up Dvorak and Josh Anderson during a dazzling shift midway through the first period, but couldn’t extend his run to eight games.
Up next
Penguins: At Ottawa on Saturday night.
Canadiens: At Winnipeg on Saturday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
The Associated Press
