Penguins Blank Panthers 4-0 as 6-Foot-9 Cooper Black Makes Historic Debut

The Pittsburgh Penguins finally gave their fans something to cheer about Thursday night, blanking the Florida Panthers 4-0 at home to snap a four-game losing streak. Nick Robertson scored twice, Evgeni Malkin and Hendrix Lapierre each chipped in a goal and an assist, and Connor Dewar added two helpers as the Penguins won for just the second time in nine games. The backbone of the win was goaltender Arturs Silovs, who turned aside all 26 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season. Pittsburgh built its lead methodically: Robertson opened the scoring late in the first, Lapierre doubled it midway through the second, and Malkin made it 3-0 early in the third before Robertson sealed it with an empty-netter. The night also belonged to the losing goaltender. With Jacob Markstrom sidelined 10 to 14 days by an upper-body injury, Florida handed 25-year-old Cooper Black his NHL debut, and the 6-foot-9 Dartmouth product became the tallest goaltender in league history. Off the ice brought relief for Pittsburgh: 19-year-old forward Ben Kindel returned home after fainting on the team flight Tuesday in Salt Lake City. General manager Kyle Dubas said Kindel suffered vasovagal syncope — a common, generally benign fainting spell — and could resume practicing early next week.