Forward Kasperi Kapanen records hat trick as Penguins rout Blues

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan sent a fairly simple decree to forward Kasperi Kapanen.

Go to the net.

“He’s a big strong guy, he can get involved in the grind game down low, in the cycle game,” Sullivan said on Monday. “In today’s game in the NHL, you have to be able to create offense different ways. It can’t just be off the rush. There has to be a grind game down low.

“That’s an area where he’s very capable.”

He was more than capable in that capacity Saturday as he scored three goals, each from within the gravitational pull of the crease, and led the Penguins to a 6-2 rout of the St. Louis Blues at PPG Paints Arena.

A healthy scratch for seven consecutive games from Nov. 15-26, Kapanen was reinserted into the lineup Tuesday and has responded with four goals, all in the past two contests.

“I’ve been trying to use my skating to get on the forecheck and really hang onto pucks a little bit and just try to go to the blue paint,” Kapanen said following Saturday’s triumph. “That might have been the easiest hat trick in history, just going to the back post and tapping them in.”

His first goal Saturday – and his third of the season – came 6:58 into regulation.

As a power-play opportunity expired, Penguins rookie defenseman P.O Joseph took a pass above the right circle of the offensive zone, surveyed the scene a bit and then snapped a puck to the left of the cage for Kapanen. Unable to accept the pass cleanly, Kapanen saw the puck bounce off his left skate then deflect into the right leg of goaltender Jordan Binnington, who inadvertently swept it into his own cage. Joseph and forward Bryan Rust had assists.

Rust was next to get on the scoresheet as he tallied his sixth goal of the season – and only his second over the past 15 games – at 11:59 of the opening frame.

Leaving his crease to play a puck dumped into the end boards, Binnington hurried a pass to the left corner thanks to a forecheck by Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin. Blues defenseman Niko Mikkola was unable to truly accept the pass and lost it as he was hounded by Penguins forward Jason Zucker. Rust claimed the puck in the left corner, fended off pressure from Blues forward Brandon Saad and curled around through the left circle where he lifted a wrister over the glove of a scrambling Binnington. Zucker and Malkin were credited with assists.

Snakebit for the better part of a month, Rust finished the contest with a season-best four points (one goal, three assists).

“Any time you go through stretches like that, it’s in the back of your head,” Rust said. “I’ve gone through stretches like that before. I’ve gone through stretches much worse. You just try to stay level-headed. You try to talk with your linemates, try to talk things out as much as possible. Then just play hockey. Get out of your own head and just play hockey.”

Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich got his eighth goal only 48 seconds later. After Blues forward Robert Thomas beat Penguins forward Teddy Blueger on a faceoff in the Penguins’ right circle, Blues defenseman Colton Parayko controlled the puck at the right point and then slid a pass to the left point for defensive partner Nick Leddy. From there, Leddy fed a seam pass to the right circle. With Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin applying light pressure, Buchnevich whacked a one-timer that glanced off the inside of goaltender Tristan Jarry’s left arm and fluttered into the cage on the near side. Assists went to Leddy and Parayko.

A power-play goal by Kapanen put the Penguins up 3-1 at 16:55 of the first period.

From the center point of the offensive zone, Joseph slid a pass to the left half wall for Penguins forward Jeff Carter who immediately lifted a wrister on net. Binnington made a save but allowed a rebound in the crease. Malkin claimed the puck, spun to his right and slid a clever pass to Kapanen, positioned to the right of the crease. Leaning down, Kapanen one-touched a forehand shot past the glove of a lunging Binnington on the near side. Carter and Malkin tallied assists.

Things turned bizarre in the late stages of the first and early portions of the second periods.

Chasing after Blues defenseman Justin Faulk for a puck behind the Blues net, Zucker tumbled to the ice after being struck in the face by Binnington, who stuck his glove out as Zucker skated by. Zucker retreated to the dressing room for medical attention and Binnington was assessed a double minor penalty for high sticking, though the penalty was rescinded after officials conducted a video review.

Zucker returned to the ice to open the second period and got his sixth goal of the season at the 1:51 mark. Taking a pass low on the left wing of the offensive zone, Malkin fed the puck to the top of the left circle for Zucker, who gripped and ripped a wrister to the far side past the left skate of a flustered Binnington. Malkin and Rust registered assists.

After Zucker offered an emphatic fist pump in front of Binnington, Blues coaches opted to pull Binnington in favor of former Penguins goaltender Thomas Greiss. Removing his helmet, Binnington began to exchange words with those on the Penguins’ bench as he made his way to the visiting bench on the far side of the ice. After officials held Binnington at bay and steered him to the Blues’ bench, Greiss took a clumsy tumble into the Blues’ net, dislodging it.

Once the net was put back in place, Binnington was given a rare 10-minute misconduct for inciting the Penguins’ bench.

Zucker, who was sporting a slight scratch on his nose following the game, largely declined to comment on Binnington. Rust wasn’t terribly interested in offering any observations and simply labeled the entire episode as “interesting.”

Blues coach Craig Berube had no such compunctions in critiquing his goaltender who has a robust history of initiating confrontations with opponents.

“It’s got to stop,” Berube said bluntly. “It doesn’t help anything. Just play goal. Stop the puck.”

Things settled down for a bit after that strange sequence, but Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko was able to make it a 4-2 contest at 8:22 of the second period by scoring his sixth goal on a breakaway. After Malkin lost the puck in the slot of the offensive zone thanks to a poke check by Parayko, Blues forward Robert Thomas claimed possession and fired a stretch pass to the neutral zone for Tarasenko. With Joseph in hot pursuit, Tarasenko attacked the cage and snapped a wrister through Jarry’s five hole. Thomas and Parayko had assists.

Kapanen tallied the Penguins’ first hat trick of the season with another power-play goal at 10:20 of the middle frame. Taking a pass over the left dot of the offensive zone, Rust surveyed for a passing lane and found one, snapping a pass through the legs of Carter – stationed above the blue paint – and to the right of the crease where Kapanen tapped in another forehand shot that led to a cascade of hats from those in attendance. Rust and Zucker netted assists.

“I give (Kapanen) so much credit,” Sullivan said after Saturday’s game. “He’s trying to play the game the right way, he’s trying to get inside, he’s going to the net, he’s physical on the forecheck, he’s challenging defensemen with his speed. He’s using speed in so many different ways. His second effort and third effort – we like to use the phrase ‘next effort’ – he’s just on the puck when he loses it. He’s tracking it from behind. He’s doing a lot of the little things that add up to winning and he’s getting pretty good looks as a result. We’re thrilled for him.

”Obviously, it’s not an easy experience when you’re out of the lineup. That’s hard for every player. That’s never easy for a coach as well, having to make those types of decisions. But I think (Kapanen) has responded unbelievably well. We’re certainly thrilled for him.”

Penguins forward Sidney Crosby supplied one final thrill in the contest when he scored his team-best 13th goal on an empty net at 15:12 of the third period. Linemate Jake Guentzel had the lone assist.

Jarry made 26 saves on 28 shots as his record improved to 10-3-3.

As for Kapanen, his outlook has improved considerably by simply going where he’s been told to go.

“I haven’t been around the net as much as I should be,” he said. “I’m probably just trying to think about that and getting to the paint.

“Sometimes, good things happen. That happened today.”

Notes:

• Kapanen recorded his second career hat trick. The first one took place roughly 13 months prior in a 5-4 home shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 6, 2021.

• The Penguins went nearly 26 years between hat tricks against the Blues. Forward Mario Lemieux scored three times in a 4-0 road win on Dec. 19, 1996.

• In nine career games against the Blues, Rust has 12 points (four goals, nine assists).

• Forward Danton Heinen (healthy) and defenseman Kris Letang (stroke) were scratched.

• Guentzel (365 points) surpassed forward Greg Malone (364) for 16th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• Rust (284 points) surpassed Doug Shedden (282) for 27th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• Blues rookie forward William Bitten made his NHL debut after being recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League on Saturday afternoon.

• Former Penguins defenseman Robert Bortuzzo was a healthy scratch for the Blues.