EditorsNote: Fixes Adam Johnson's assist total
Rookie Sam Lafferty and Adam Johnson scored their first NHL goals and goalie Matt Murray earned his 100th career win Saturday as the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins downed the winless Minnesota Wild, 7-4.
Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Johnson and Patric Hornqvist each had a goal and an assist, and Joseph Blandisi and Jake Guentzel also scored for Pittsburgh. Murray made 29 saves to improve to 100-44-14. He also got his fourth career assist.
Jared Spurgeon had a goal and two assists, Brad Hunt a goal and an assist, and Jason Zucker and Luke Kunin scored for Minnesota in its home opener. Devan Dubnyk gave up five goals on 23 shots before being replaced by Alex Stalock, who made 10 saves on 11 shots.
Hornqvist got the only goal of the first, on a power play, when he tipped in a setup from Justin Schultz at 14:54.
The Penguins made it 2-0 at 3:26 of the second on a delayed penalty. Crosby, who drew what would have been the penalty, was sprung by Letang for a short breakaway and roofed a backhander.
Zucker cut it to 2-1 for the Wild 28 seconds later on a redirection from the slot of a shot by Hunt.
At 11:11 of the second, Johnson, a Minnesota native, picked up his first career goal. From the left circle, he converted a long rebound given up by Dubnyk off a shot by Lafferty, whose assist was his first career point.
Letang made it 4-1 at 12:58 off another Dubnyk rebound.
To finish a sequence of three Pittsburgh goals in 2:28, Blandisi scored off a feed from behind the net from Johnson to make it 5-1 at 13:39.
Stalock then relieved Dubnyk.
At 16:46 of the second, Spurgeon pulled Minnesota to within 5-2 when his shot from deep in the left circle squirted in off Murray as the goalie sprawled to his right.
Guentzel's power-play goal from right in front made it 6-2 at 10:48 of the third.
Hunt at 15:23 and Kunin at 15:44 made it 6-4.
Lafferty added an empty-netter with 1:11 left.
--Field Level Media
