Penguins’ fast start fuels 6-2 win over Oilers

EDMONTON – Anthony Mantha scored twice as the Pittsburgh Penguins took a 3-0 lead before the game was even three minutes old and cruised to a 6-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

Evgeni Malkin, with a goal and an assist, Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell, and Egor Chinakhov scored for the Penguins (25-14-11), who have won three straight and have gone 10-2-2 in their last 14 outings.

The Penguins are now 117-10-7 when both Malkin and Crosby score in the same game.

Pittsburgh scored its first three goals in 37 seconds, the third fastest three-goal outburst in franchise history. It was the shortest span in which the Oilers have allowed three goals in their existence.

Arturs Silovs made 30 stops to earn the win in net for the Penguins, while Tristan Jarry recorded just 16 saves in the loss to his former team.

Takeaways

Penguins: Defenceman Jack St. Ivany has more than doubled his season’s point total in the last two games. After three assists in his first 14 games, St. Ivany had two helpers against Calgary on Wednesday and added another two assists on Thursday.

Oilers: Connor McDavid was held pointless and hasn’t hit the scoreboard for two straight games for the first time all season. The last time he went two games without a point was Feb. 7 and Feb. 22, 2025, a pair of matches that had the 4 Nations Face-Off in between them.

Key moment

The Penguins got off to a lightning start with three goals on four shots. Just 2:20 into the first, Justin Brazeau made a nifty pass through a defender’s legs to Mantha, who deflected it in. Twenty-two seconds later, Mantha scored on a breakaway. Pittsburgh went up 3-0 just 15 seconds after that as Crosby deflected a pass from the slot into the net.

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Key stat

Pittsburgh hadn’t won in Edmonton since Dec. 20, 2019. Part of the reason for that had been McDavid’s dominance over Crosby. In their 16 previous head-to-head meetings coming into the contest, McDavid had 11 goals and 34 points, while Crosby had just four goals and 11 points.

Up next

Penguins: Are in Vancouver to face the Canucks on Sunday.

Oilers: Host the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2026.

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