3 takeaways: Penguins defenseman Kris Letang sets short-handed goal record - TribLIVE

Three takeaways from the Penguins’ 4-2 win in Florida on Thursday night:

Short story

Defenseman Kris Letang scored the Pittsburgh Penguins’ first goal, setting a team record in the process.

Letang’s score at 4:17 of the second period, on a two-on-one with forward Bryan Rust, was short-handed and allowed him to set a new franchise record for short-handed goals by a defenseman with five.

He previously shared the mark with Randy Carlyle and Larry Murphy (four each).

The Penguins’ previous short-handed goal by a defenseman came from Jack Johnson in a 4-3 home win against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 19, 2020.

“Sometimes it’s like that,” Letang told reporters in Florida. “The power play is collapsing low. They’re trying to get at the net. You get fortunate bounces and it kind of opens up. Just a great play by Rusty.”

Heinen returns

Penguins forward Danton Heinen returned to the lineup after being scratched five of the previous five games, starting the game at left wing on the second line with Evgeni Malkin at center and Rust at right wing.

Logging 14:13 of ice time on 20 shifts, Heinen recorded one shot on two attempts and had one minor penalty.

Sick cats

The Panthers were only able to dress 19 players as star forward Matthew Tkachuk was scratched. According to media in Sunrise, Tkachuk was sidelined due to an undisclosed illness that has felled other members of the roster.

According to Cap Friendly, the Panthers only have $600,125 of salary cap space, a figure that does not allow them to make a recall from a minor league affiliate.

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