Site last updated: Saturday, October 17, 2026

Log In

Reset Password
Butler County's great daily newspaper

Penguins extend unbeaten streak to five games

PITTSBURGH - Aleksey Morozov and Milan Kraft are trying to help the Pittsburgh Penguins finish a forgettable season on a good note.

Morozov scored two goals and Kraft set up three, extending their scoring streaks to four games each, and the NHL's worst team earned a 3-3 tie with the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. Pittsburgh is 4-0-1 in its last five games.

"Sometime you have to be hot. You cannot be cold all season long," Morozov said.

He scored his 12th and 13th goals 10 minutes apart in the second period, the latter on the power play.

"I've just had some good chances and they're going in, Morozov said. "When you're getting goals and points, you always play with confidence, and I'm trying to keep that confidence the rest of the season. I'm trying to learn from this, and I'm looking forward to scoring some more goals."

Morozov has eight goals and 21 points in the last 24 games after a disappointing first half in which he scored only five goals. He also endured a 33-game goal drought earlier this season.

"He's done everything we've asked, and he's being rewarded," Pittsburgh coach Ed Olczyk said.

Kraft, a healthy scratch for nine of Pittsburgh's first 11 games, has six goals and 15 points in the last 13 games after getting the first three-point game of his NHL career.

"At the beginning of the season I didn't play very much, but now I'm playing every night and I want to show that I can play in his league," said Kraft, who had 13 points in the first half of the season, but has 33 points with 10 games to play.

The Penguins took a 3-2 lead into the final period, but watched Simon Gagne tie it at 1:16 after some miscommunication between goaltender Sebastien Caron and center Rico Fata behind the Pittsburgh goal left a loose puck for Alexei Zhamnov.

"Alex just took the puck and made a pass, and I had an open net after that," said Gagne, who has 21 goals this season and two in the past two games for the Flyers. Philadelphia is unbeaten in four (2-0-2) and moved within one point of Southwest Division-leading Tampa Bay for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The victory clinched a playoff spot for the Flyers, but they have bigger goals in mind.

"These are games we have to find a way to get two points in," Sami Kapanen said. "We're kind of shooting ourselves in the foot, especially after a big win Saturday."

The Flyers, coming off a 2-1 victory over New Jersey, dominated the first period and emerged with a 2-1 lead on goals by Zhamnov and Kim Johnsson.

Johnsson's 11th goal came on the power play with just 11.9 seconds left.

"We had a great start," Philadelphia coach Ken Hitchcock said. "If we were guilty of anything, it was giving the momentum back to them when we took penalties in the second period."

Landon Wilson also scored for Pittsburgh, which is 6-2-2 in its last 10 games and climbed within six points of the Washington Capitals.

"That's what a good team is all about - the reason we've been winning is because everybody is contributing," Fata said. "That's a real good sign for us."

Notes:

Pittsburgh entered with 13 points since

Feb. 25, third most in the league during that span behind Tampa Bay and Montreal. ... The Flyers, who play five of their final eight games at home, have lost only two of their last 15 games against Pittsburgh. ... Kraft, who had his first career three-point game, has points in four straight games (2-6-8).

More in Professional

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

* indicates required
TODAY'S PHOTOS