Be it by hook or by crook, the Pittsburgh Penguins discovered plenty of avenues that led to losses throughout December.
They did it through regulation, overtime and shootouts.
And there was a dreadful sequence of being on the wrong end of shutouts in back-to-back road entanglements.
They even managed to be defeated at various junctures despite possessing one-, three- and four-goal leads in the third period of games.
On Sunday, they employed a rudimentary but reliable schematic for a victory.
Score a bunch of goals against one of the NHL’s worst teams.
Such was the case with their rollicking 7-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Chicago’s United Center.
Buoyed by forward Justin Brazeau’s first career hat trick, the Penguins won in regulation for the first time since Dec. 4 (a 4-3 road victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning).
“We felt pretty good,” Brazeau said to reporters in Chicago via audio provided by the Penguins’ media relations department. “It’s something we can build on.”
In addition to outscoring the local gridiron team, the offensive outburst represented a season high in goals for the Penguins, who diced up a struggling Blackhawks outfit that entered the day 31st in the 32-team NHL standings.
Penguins forward Anthony Mantha opened the scoring with his 12th goal of the season only 98 seconds into regulation.
After Penguins forward Tommy Novak won a faceoff in Chicago’s left circle, defenseman Jack St. Ivany gathered the puck on the near half-wall and fed it to the center point for defensive partner Ryan Shea. Faking a shot for a moment, Shea one-touched it back to St. Ivany, who clapped a one-timer on net. Goaltender Spencer Knight made the initial save but allowed a rebound to trickle free to the right circle. Before Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic could play the puck out of danger, Mantha chopped it through Knight’s five hole. St. Ivany and Shea had assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) December 29, 2025
The visitors struck again via forward Bryan Rust’s 14th goal at 7:19 of the first period.
Gaining the offensive blue line on the right wing, Penguins forward Sidney Crosby flung a blind backhand pass to the far wall for Rust. Stopping the puck with his left skate, Rust advanced to the near circle and lifted a far-side wrister past Knight’s glove. Crosby and defenseman Kris Letang logged assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) December 29, 2025
Only 61 seconds later, Brazeau got in on the act with his ninth goal of the season.
Off a cycle along Chicago’s end boards initiated by Novak, Mantha accepted the puck behind the cage, emerged to the left of the net and fed a backhand pass through the crease. Slipping past the detection of Blackhawks forward Andre Burakovsky, Brazeau buried a forehand shot through the five hole of a flummoxed Knight. Mantha and Novak nabbed assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) December 29, 2025
The Blackhawks called a timeout to regroup, but that tactic did little to stymie the Penguins as Rust rung again at 12:03 of the opening frame.
Pushing a puck up the left wing of the offensive zone, Shea pulled up near the half-wall and waited for a teammate to get open, then identified Rust sauntering in from the right point after being liberated from the penalty box. Accepting a pass, Rust veered past Blackhawks rookie forward Colton Dach and fired a forehand shot through Knight’s scorched five hole. Shea, a former Blackhawks prospect, and forward Blake Lizotte secured assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) December 29, 2025
Knight was pulled, potentially for humanitarian concerns, after stopping only 3 of 7 shots. He was replaced by Arvid Soderblom for the remainder of the first period and all of the second period then returned to open the third period.
Blackhawks forward Nick Foligno got his team on the scoreboard with his first goal at 10:50 of the second frame.
Keeping a puck in the offensive zone at the left point, ex-Penguins forward Sam Lafferty jabbed it forward to the high slot for Dach, who turned to his right and lifted a wrister. Foligno was stationed above the crease and was struck on the right thigh by the puck. As goaltender Arturs Silovs scrambled to find the rebound, Foligno allowed the puck to plop to the ice and chopped a backhander through is skates that fluttered over Silovs’ right leg. Assists went to Dach and Lafferty, a native of Hollidaysburg.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) December 29, 2025
Brazeau scored again only 90 seconds later during a power-play sequence.
Taking a pass at the left half-wall of the offensive zone, Penguins rookie forward Ville Koivunen fed it to the slot. Taking the offering, Penguins rookie forward Ben Kindel drove to the left circle and offloaded the puck with a backhand pass low to the left of the cage for Brazeau, who was tapping his stick to get Kindel’s attention. With little resistance, Brazeau swept the puck towards the cage on his forehand, then guided a backhander past the left skate of a helpless Soderblom. Kindel and Koivunen collected assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) December 29, 2025
A mere 57 seconds later, Brazeau had his hat trick.
Surging into the offensive zone on the left wing, Shea crossed over above the left circle with Penguins forward Connor Dewar and handed the puck off. Dewar took the offering and chucked a wrister toward the cage. Gaining position on Vlasic in the slot, Brazeau did a drive-by and redirected the puck with his stick over Soderblom’s left shoulder on the far side. Dewar and Shea were deemed worthy of assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) December 29, 2025
Blackhawks defenseman Wyatt Kaiser cauterised the bleeding for a moment with his fourth goal only 13 seconds later with a bit of luck.
Off a dump-in from a faceoff at center ice, Blackhawks rookie forward Ryan Greene claimed the puck on the left wall of the offensive zone and fed it to the near point, where Kaiser fired a wrister that appeared to be intentionally aimed wide on the near side, presumably in hopes of creating a scoring chance in the crease. The puck wound up deflecting off the end boards and struck off Silovs’ right skate, caroming into the cage. Kaiser was credited with the score off assists from Greene and defenseman Connor Murphy.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) December 29, 2025
Penguins fourth-liner Noel Acciari even got on the scoreboard with his third goal at 18:48 of the second period.
Winning a puck in the right corner of the offensive zone, Lizotte slid it to the near corner where St. Ivany clapped a one-timer. The shot was wide on the near side and hit the end boards, then glanced off the near side of the cage before sliding to the top of the crease. Acciari was fortuitously positioned and shuffled a forehand shot in off of Soderblom’s blocker. St. Ivany and Lizotte had assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) December 29, 2025
Blackhawks forward Tyler Bertuzzi capped the scoring at the last second – literally – with his 19th goal at 19:59 of the third period.
Off his own end boards, Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson backhand flipped the puck to the offensive blue line, causing it to slide into the Penguins’ left circle. St. Ivany hovered over the puck somewhat casually as it bumped into an errant broken stick. That allowed Bertuzzi to claim possession and swiped a forehand shot past Silovs’ left shoulder on the far side. Dickinson had the only assist.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) December 29, 2025
Silovs made 21 saves on 24 shots as his record improved to 6-5-6.
“We managed to shut them down,” Silovs said. “We just chipped away.”
Note:
• Brazeau’s hat trick was the first by a Penguins player this season.
• According to Elite Prospects, Brazeau’s last hat trick at any level of hockey came as a member of the now-defunct Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL. He scored four goals in a 9-1 road win against the Jacksonville Icemen.
????GOAL????
JUSTIN BRAZEAU is ON FIRE ????
His FOURTH goal of the game ????
7-1 #Growlers
16:42 left in the 3rd #StandOnGuard pic.twitter.com/4GtIrwhXfC— Newfoundland Growlers (@NLGrowlers) March 1, 2020
• The Penguins’ last hat trick against the Blackhawks was recorded by Rust. He scored three times on goaltender Corey Crawford in a 6-3 loss, Dec. 12, 2018.
BRYAN RUST COMPLETES THE HATTY TO TIE IT UP AT 3!#LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/LLjqsMh7pi
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 13, 2018
• The Penguins had not scored this many goals since a 7-3 home win against the New Jersey Devils on March 15.
• As noted by Penguins historian Bob Grove, the Penguins went more than a year since the last time they chased a starting goaltender.
During a 7-3 home win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 23, 2024, they ejected Samuel Ersson from his crease after scoring five goals on 14 shots against him.
• Acciari fought Murphy at 18:16 of the first period.
• Acciari recorded his first fighting major since March 21, 2023. As a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he battled New York Islanders forward Matt Martin.
• Shea set a new career-high with three points (all assists).
• Shea was a fourth-round draft pick (No. 121 overall) of the Blackhawks in 2015 but never signed with that team.
• Dan Muse (16-12-9) moved into a tie with Lou Angotti (16-58-6) for 22nd place (i.e. last place) on the franchise’s coaching wins list.
(Angotti’s lone season with the Penguins was the doomed — but intentionally so — 1983-84 campaign.)
• Penguins defensemen Connor Clifton and Ryan Graves, as well as forward Kevin Hayes, were healthy scratches.
• Lafferty recorded his first career point against the Penguins in six games. He was a fourth-round draft pick (No. 113 overall) of the Penguins in 2014.
