PITTSBURGH _ If the Penguins feel the need to make a New Year's resolution in the next couple of days, here's one suggestion: Just keep doing what you've been doing.
The Penguins have been the NHL's hottest team in December, leading the league with 10 wins, a .833 winning percentage and a plus-16 goal differential.
Their latest win came Monday at PPG Paints Arena when they brushed aside the Ottawa Senators by a 5-2 margin. The victory was their third in a row. And it contained most of the ingredients that have had them cooking all month.
The stars came through again. This time it was Evgeni Malkin with two tallies.
Sidney Crosby carries the Stanley Cup down the Boulevard of the Allies in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, during the Pittsburgh Penguins' victory parade and rally.
Secondary scoring? They got that, too. Heck, Dominik Simon got another one.
Their defense kept the shot totals down and Tristan Jarry, in net for all but three of their games this month, pounced on most of the pucks that got through.
And the Penguins displayed the determination and poise they have shown on so many nights this season, twice striking right back after costly breakdowns.
But, sadly, there was one more familiarity _ a key player went down hard.
Jake Guentzel, the team's lone All-Star for now, picked up assists on both Malkin goals and got his 200th career point when he swatted in a rebound in the third period. But he tripped at the end of that scoring sequence and crashed into the boards with a thud. He went right to the locker room and did not return.
The Penguins did not immediately provide an update on Guentzel's status.
Malkin scored his first goal 27 seconds in. In the neutral zone, Guentzel somehow squeezed a cross-ice pass past the sticks of two well-positioned Senators to spring Malkin and Bryan Rust on a 2-on-1. Malkin picked his spot and shot.
Jared McCann will eventually move back to wing for the Penguins ... right?
Simon, scoring his second goal in three games, cashed in a nice assist from Joseph Blandisi to make it 2-0. With the Penguins in transition, Blandisi took a hit from Thomas Chabot along the left wall but led Simon to the goal with a pass that glided like a curling stone. Simon backhanded it past Marcus Hogberg.
The Penguins gave up only four shots in the first, but Jarry twice had to bail them out. Chabot couldn't beat the goalie on a breakaway during 4-on-4 play, then Jarry booted out Erik Brannstrom's point-blank redirect later in the period.
Jarry made 24 saves to earn his sixth straight win. He's 12-2-0 since Nov. 16.
After the Senators scored early in the second, the Penguins quickly responded. Rust ducked below the goal line and as he came around the cage spotted Malkin. Malkin dropped to a knee as he snapped a shot past Hogberg's glove.
That was the second goal of the game and 11th of the season for Malkin, who earlier in the day found out that he had been passed over for next month's All-Star game despite now ranking third in the NHL in points per game.
Nick Paul of the Senators buried a rebound for his second goal, making it 3-2. But the Penguins again had a prompt reply. This time, John Marino spun around Andreas Englund and got a pass through to Patric Hornqvist, who scored his first goal since returning from a four-week absence over the weekend.
Guentzel put the game away in the third period. We'll see if the collision into the boards after the goal makes him the latest All-Star to miss significant time.
With Monday's win, the Penguins improved to 12-1-2 in their last 15 games at PPG Paints Arena. Their 16 wins at home currently rank first in the NHL.
The Penguins don't play again until the ball drops on 2019. They will host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday before playing 10 of the next 14 on the road.
