PITTSBURGH (AP) — Adam Fox scored twice and added an assist as the New York Rangers beat the Penguins 6-1 on Saturday night to give new coach Mike Sullivan a victory in his return to Pittsburgh.
Sullivan, who coached the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017, was back for the first time since parting ways with the team in April. Pittsburgh spoiled Sullivan’s debut with the Rangers by winning the season opener 3-0 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, but New York exacted a measure of revenge on Saturday.
Mika Zibanejad scored a short-handed goal, his 251st goal with the Rangers, surpassing Mark Messier for the eighth-most in franchise history. Will Cuylle added a power-play goal, and Matt Rempe and Taylor Raddysh also scored for New York, which announced on Saturday that center Vincent Trocheck — a Pittsburgh native — is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Igor Shesterkin made 18 saves for the Rangers.
Ben Kindel scored his first NHL goal and Bryan Rust returned to Pittsburgh’s lineup after missing the first two games of the season because of a lower-body injury. The Penguins lost for the first time under new coach Dan Muse, a Rangers assistant from 2023-25.
Arturs Silovs stopped 24 shots after shutting out the Rangers on Tuesday.
Sullivan, in addition to his back-to-back championships, had 409 wins with Pittsburgh in 753 games, both team records.
Zibanejad scored at 7:40 of the first period, 23 seconds after a tribute video was played to honor Sullivan. It was Zibanejad’s 12th short-handed goal with the Rangers, tied for fifth-most in franchise history.
New York took command in the second with three goals and a 14-3 advantage in shots.
Fox helped the Rangers regain the lead, 2-1, just 3:02 after Kindel scored. Cuylle made it 3-1 when he tapped in a pass from Conor Sheary, who also won back-to-back championships with Pittsburgh.
Fox scored his second goal from the point five seconds into a power play as the Rangers opened a 4-1 lead.
Up next
Rangers: Host the Washington Capitals on Sunday night.
Penguins: Open a three-game West Coast trip Tuesday at Anaheim.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
By DAN SCIFO
Associated Press
