Penguins deliver win to coach Dan Muse in 'very special' home opener

Dan Muse has been doing quite a bit to endear himself to Pittsburgh since he was hired as the Penguins’ 23rd coach June 4.

During training camp in Cranberry last month, he held a door open for fans to enter the rink and thanked them for coming to watch practice. And when a reporter asked which was his favorite NFL team following a news conference, the Massachusetts-raised Muse immediately and prudently blurted out, “Steelers!”

He found a stronger way to make a good first impression locally Thursday as he guided the Penguins to a riveting 4-3 win against the New York Islanders in their home opener at PPG Paints Arena.

The triumph came two days after the Penguins opened the season with an impressive 3-0 road victory against the New York Rangers, a club now guided by Muse’s predecessor, Mike Sullivan.

Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry, who received a frothy blend of cheers and boos as he was introduced as a starter, made 34 saves on 37 shots in his first appearance of the season. Forward Justin Brazeau scored the game-winning goal with 5:39 to play, breaking a 3-3 tie.

Also helpful were a handful of luminaries in forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who collected multiple points after they – along with defenseman Kris Letang – were celebrated for being teammates for two decades prior to the game.

“It’s very special,” Malkin said. “Time is flying. I feel like 20 years ago, it’s one day. It’s amazing. Love to play with Sid and (Letang). Same team together 20 years. It’s special. People talk a lot about that. I try to do my best. Who knows? Maybe last year. I do my best and try to help the team to win. Sid, a special kid. (Letang), too. Lots of (memories), lots of wins together.”

Muse has won in this venue before. In 2013, he was an assistant with Yale’s men’s team when it won the NCAA championship when the Frozen Four was staged in what was then called Consol Energy Center.

“I just always remember after that team won the national championship, the whole team being by the bus and nobody even wanting to get on,” Muse said in Cranberry on Wednesday. “I think every time I pull into that parking area there in the back, that’s the memory that always stands out to me from that team.”

Penguins forward Rickard Rakell opened the scoring with his first goal of the season during a power-play sequence 3:23 into regulation.

Lugging the puck up the right wing boards into the offensive zone, Malkin slid it into the crease with a forehand offering. Goaltender Ilya Sorokin stopped it initially but couldn’t corral the rebound, which was batted a few times by Rakell, Crosby and Malkin. The goal was credited to Rakell with assists to Malkin and Crosby.

Power play goal for Pittsburgh!

Scored by Rickard Rakell with 16:37 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.

Pittsburgh: 1
New York: 0#NYIvsPIT #LetsGoPens #Isles pic.twitter.com/c0qiUhumbR

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 10, 2025

The Islanders tied it at 12:02 of the first period when forward Jonathan Drouin collected his first goal.

Making his NHL debut, Islanders rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer, the first overall selection in this year’s draft, accepted a pass at the right point of the offensive zone and maneuvered his way to the near circle before sliding a pass to the high slot. From there, Drouin chopped – and fanned – on a one-timer attempt that fluttered past Jarry’s glove. Schaefer had the lone assist, his first career point.

Jonathan Drouin - New York Islanders (1) pic.twitter.com/3ptWnEozoE

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 10, 2025

The visitors took their first lead 4:04 into the second frame via forward Kyle Palmieri’s first goal.

After Islanders forward Mathew Barzal gained the offensive zone and surged to the high slot, he left a drop pass for Palmieri, who burst into the right circle and lasered a wrister to the far side past Jarry’s blocker. Barzal and defenseman Scott Mayfield merited assists.

Kyle Palmieri - New York Islanders (1) pic.twitter.com/yAfLvvtWtP

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 10, 2025

Another newcomer to the Penguins, rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke, tied the game with his first career goal at 5:41 of the second.

Penguins forward Tommy Novak dove to jab an errant puck near the center point of the Penguins’ zone toward center ice. Rookie linemate Filip Hallander accepted the puck and raced it into the Islanders’ zone between Mayfield and Schaefer. Gaining the offensive blue line, Hallander veered to the left wing and swept a backhand pass to a trailing Brunicke, who pumped a wrister from above the left circle to the far side, beating Sorokin’s glove. Hallander recorded an assist, his first career point. So did Novak, his first point as a member of the Penguins.

Harrison Brunicke - Pittsburgh Penguins (1) pic.twitter.com/4tnQHk1GIk

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 10, 2025

“You talk about that blacking-out feeling,” the 19-year-old Brunicke said. “That’s kind of what I felt. Just a lot of excitement and happiness for sure. It felt good.”

The most tenured member of the Penguins restored a lead at 8:58 of the second period as Crosby — in his 21st campaign as a club employee — scored his first this season during a four-on-three power-play situation.

From the high slot, Rakell slid the puck to the right of the cage for Malkin. Surveying his options, Malkin saw Crosby bullying Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock for position in the crease. As Pulock made futile attempts to evict the intruder, Malkin made a short-area pass to the forehand of Crosby’s stick blade, which directed the puck into the cage. Malkin and Rakell registered assists.

Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins (1)
Power Play Goal pic.twitter.com/td2iSZaLu4

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 10, 2025

The Penguins’ power play finished the contest 2 for 5.

“It’s a huge advantage when you score power-play (goals),” Malkin said. “We have five big names on the first unit of the power play. We score, we help the team every night win. Four on three, I know Sid (is) going to the net. I know he has a strong stick. I try to pass to his stick and he scored on an empty net. Just stay (with) the same focus. Support each other, play strong and try to score every night.”

The Islanders persisted as rookie forward Max Shabanov tied the game again at 19:19 with his first career goal.

Claiming a loose puck in the neutral zone, Islanders forward Simon Holmstrom weaved his way into the Penguins’ zone at the center point, veered to the left wing and fed a cross-ice pass for Shabonov, who gripped and ripped a wrister from below the right dot past Jarry’s left skate on the near side. The only assist went to Holmstrom.

Max Shabanov - New York Islanders (1) pic.twitter.com/ntsaWhjVLv

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 10, 2025

Brazeau — two nights removed from scoring a pair of goals against the Rangers — reclaimed a lead for good at 14:21 of the third period with his team-leading third goal on a breakaway set up by Malkin and linemate Anthony Mantha.

After Penguins defenseman Caleb Jones swiped a puck off of Palmieri in Pittsburgh’s left circle, Mantha claimed possession on the near wall and offloaded it to Malkin. Identifying a scoring opportunity, Malkin snapped a forehand bank pass off the opposite wall of the neutral zone and created an entry for Brazeau.

Accepting the puck, Brazeau hustled behind Mayfield and attacked the net. Upon arrival, Brazeau deked Sorokin out of position and lifted an impressive backhander into the cage.

Justin Brazeau scores his (3) goal as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the New York Islanders 4-3 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.#LetsGoPens   
pic.twitter.com/zgH9LFimTV

— Rockford Maverick (@RockfordMav) October 10, 2025

All three of his goals have involved Malkin generating the primary assist, while Mantha had registered a pair of secondary helpers.

“(Malkin is) obviously an incredible player,” said Brazeau, who entered the season with only 17 career goals. “So, I knew I just could keep going and he’s going to find you somehow. He made a great play to kind of put it in behind and kind of lead me in.

“It’s a great play by him.”

The same could be said of Jarry in the final stanzas of the contest.

Following Brazeau’s goal, the Islanders outshot the Penguins by a 7-1 margin for the remainder of the contest. He even had to deny Barzal with three seconds left in regulation.

Given Jarry’s struggles in recent years, he entered the contest — and the season — under plenty of scrutiny.

“I heard about that,” Muse said of the often unflattering focus on Jarry. “But this is a new year. This is a clean slate for a lot of guys.

“I thought he played great. You look at the end of the game, that’s a tight game. You look at some of the saves that he made during the third period. … There’s some massive moments there in the third period that he came up with big saves and helped make sure that this team secured those two points.”

And Muse appears to secure plenty of faith in how he has steered the Penguins thus far.

“We play like (a) team,” Malkin said. “Always help (for) everybody. Not just young kids or veterans. We’re all the same. Tonight, it doesn’t matter who plays. We try to win.

“It’s two games I think we played very well.”

Notes:

• Malkin (1,351 points) surpassed forward Mats Sundin (1,349) for 30th place on the NHL’s career scoring list.

• Brunicke became the 650th player to score a regular season goal in franchise history. He also became the first native of South Africa to score a goal in the NHL.

• Hallander, who previously wore No. 36, became the 30th player to wear No. 11 in a game of consequence for the Penguins. His predecessors (via PittsburghHockey.net):

Gene Ubriaco, Tracy Pratt, Nick Harbaruk, Bemie Lukowich, Vic Hadfield, John Flesch, Tom Cassidy, George Ferguson, Anders Hakansson, Rocky Saganiuk, Tim Tookey, Troy Loney, Dwight Mathiasen, Lee Giffin, Alain Lemieux, Warren Young, John Cullen, Alek Stojanov, Shawn Antoski, Darius Kasparaitis, Alexandre Daigle, Lasse Pirjeta, Guillaume Lefebvre, Jordan Staal, Kevin Porter, Frederick Gaudreau, Brian Boyle, Alex Nylander, Vasily Ponomarev

• Penguins forward Bryan Rust remains on injured reserve due to an undisclosed ailment. He has been a full participant in a practice session (Wednesday) and a morning skate (Thursday).

• Penguins defensemen Mathew Dumba and Connor Clifton along with forward Philip Tomasino were healthy scratches.

• Schaeffer opened the contest on the Islanders’ third pairing in his NHL debut. He logged 17:15 of ice time on 23 shifts and had one shot on five attempts.

• Schaefer became the fifth top overall draft pick to make his NHL debut against the Penguins. His predecessors:

1970 – Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo Sabres

1991 – Eric Lindros, Quebec Nordiques (Lindros made his debut with the Philadelphia Flyers following a highly scrutinized trade.)

2009 – John Tavares, Islanders

2011 – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers

2023 – Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks