PITTSBURGH — Penguins winger Phil Kessel notched a natural hat trick, and the Golden Knights were unable to sustain their fast start in a 4-2 loss at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.
Tomas Nosek opened the scoring 6:28 into the first period when the Knights outshot Pittsburgh 16-9. Reilly Smith added his 100th career goal in the third period, and Jonathan Marchessault finished with two assists.
Kessel converted twice on breakaways in the second period, and Jake Guentzel added a goal for Pittsburgh.
Knights goaltender Malcolm Subban made 18 saves in his first start of the season.