PITTSBURGH — The Penguins got goals from players young and old in Thursday’s home opener at PPG Paints Arena and improved to 2-0 with a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders.

Harrison Brunicke scored his first NHL goal during the second period. The rookie defenseman joined the rush and beat a former All-Star goaltender in Ilya Sorokin.

Pittsburgh also got goals from two fellas named Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, who were early in their Penguins careers on the day Brunicke, now 19, was born.

Justin Brazeau put them ahead for good with 5:39 remaining in the third period.

The Penguins and Islanders traded goals in the first period. Malkin got Pittsburgh’s while on the power play. New York responded with a goal from Jonathan Drouin.

The second period was a seesaw. The visitors briefly held the lead after a goal off the rush by Kyle Palmieri. Brunicke tied it up 1:37 later. Crosby gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead, with Malkin setting him up for their second power-play goal of the night. Then Max Shabanov of the Islanders made it 3-3 in the final minute of the second.

Malkin and the Penguins had a few excellent looks during the third period. Brazeau finally put one past Sorokin with 5:39 left to play. That held up as the winning goal.

Surprise Penguins starter Tristan Jarry got the victory. He finished with 35 saves, none bigger than his point-blank stop on Mathew Barzal just before the final buzzer.

It was over when ...

Brazeau beat Sorokin on a partial breakaway. The big winger corralled a bank pass off the boards from Malkin and skated in to score with a forehand-backhand deke. That was the third goal in his first two games for the Penguins’ free-agent acquisition.

Stat of the game

1 — Not only did Brunicke record his first goal and point, winger Filip Hallander also got his first career point with the primary assist on Brunicke’s milestone tally.

Around the boards

— The Penguins unveiled their new third jerseys, wearing them in the home opener.

— Before the game, the Penguins recognized Crosby, Malkin and Kris Letang with a video tribute. The trio just began their record 20th season together as teammates.

— Mario Lemieux was at the game and received a nice ovation when shown on the videoboard. It was a rare appearance for him during the Fenway Sports Group era.

— Coach Dan Muse said he went with Jarry over Arturs Silovs, who posted a shutout in the season opener, because the team wants to “get everybody going” early in the season. Reading the tea leaves, this was might have been a decision that was made early in the week and Muse stuck with it despite a solid Penguins debut for Silovs.

— Along the same lines, Muse inserted Hallander into the lineup Thursday and sat down Philip Tomasino. It was Hallander’s first NHL game in nearly three years.

— Bryan Rust participated in the morning skate but was not cleared to play in their home opener. The way he is trending, it looks like Saturday’s game is a possibility.

— Malkin had a goal and two assists in the win, pacing Pittsburgh with three points.

— With an assist on Malkin’s power-play goal in the first period, Crosby moved into a tie with childhood idol Steve Yzerman for the ninth-most assists in NHL history.

— Matthew Schaefer, the top pick in the 2025 draft, made his NHL debut Thursday and notched his first NHL assist when he set up Drouin in the opening period. The young defenseman played his junior hockey just up the road with the Erie Otters.

Coming up next

Penguins players have a scheduled off day Friday. The team’s next game is a home rematch against Mike Sullivan and the New York Rangers on Saturday night.

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