SUNRISE, Fla. \u2014 One of the benefits of 18-year-old Ben Kindel staying with the Pittsburgh Penguins all season is that he can learn a thing or two from Sidney Crosby.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no question that Kindel will learn plenty from the Penguins\u2019 captain, but he\u2019s already so advanced, perhaps he\u2019s just going to join forces with Crosby in helping the Penguins win right now.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what happened on the road against the defending champion Florida Panthers on Thursday. Kindel and Crosby both scored goals during stretches when the Penguins were back on their heels, and Tristan Jarry otherwise held down the fort in a 5-3 victory.<\/p>\n
Crosby scored two power-play goals and added an assist. Kindel was outstanding again and Jarry put on a show as the Penguins beat the Panthers despite being outshot 37-16.<\/p>\n
The Penguins were outplayed for large stretches during the game, though probably not quite as badly as the shots would indicate. They actually outplayed the Panthers in the first period. The remainder of the game, however, saw the Panthers possess a huge territorial advantage, attacking in waves in their home building, a third-period staple of Paul Maurice\u2019s team. Jarry never blinked, however, and the Penguins allowed only one five-on-five goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re a great team and they\u2019re going to control play at times,\u201d Rickard Rakell said. \u201cBut you know what? We didn\u2019t break.\u201d<\/p>\n
They certainly did not. Jarry made a number of stellar saves<\/p>\n
The Penguins felt like they were in a particular amount of trouble after each of Brad Marchand\u2019s goals. Marchand scored in the second period to give Florida life, pulling within a goal after Crosby and Rakell had scored to put the Penguins up 2-0.<\/p>\n
Following Marchand\u2019s goal, the Panthers were coming at the Penguins in waves and the equalizer felt inevitable. Then, Tommy Novak found Kindel on a give-and-go, and the rookie buried it.<\/p>\n
THIS KID CAN PLAY \ud83e\udd29 pic.twitter.com\/ar7RBC33Fp<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis kid is so good,\u201d Rakell said. \u201cYou can see he\u2019s going to be a great player.\u201d<\/p>\n Then, Rakell reevaluated what he had said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe already is a great player,\u201d Rakell concluded. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t look out of place at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Then, there is the master.<\/p>\n The Penguins were clinging to a 4-3 advantage after Marchand\u2019s second goal with half of the third period remaining. Aaron Ekblad interfered with Bryan Rust to give the Penguins a chance.<\/p>\n Crosby required only 15 seconds of power-play time to bury his second goal past Sergei Bobrovsky.<\/p>\n Tic, tac, toe.<\/p>\n That’s another power-play goal! pic.twitter.com\/BsH4RFATfT<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSid\u2019s pretty good, too,\u201d Rakell said with a smirk.<\/p>\n Right now, the Penguins are pretty good. They\u2019re not only 6-2 but also a very impressive 4-1 on the road. All six of their wins have come in regulation.<\/p>\n It\u2019s still exceedingly early in the season. The Penguins are eight games in, which means 74 games remain. Dan Muse is hardly getting ahead of himself. Still, the first-year Penguins coach is quite pleased.<\/p>\n \u201cWinning\u2019s not easy in this league,\u201d Muse said. \u201cThey\u2019re (his players) doing it in different ways. Even when there were breakdowns, it wasn\u2019t for a lack of effort. I don\u2019t take it for granted. Winning is very, very hard in this league. But it\u2019s still early.\u201d<\/p>\n Ten postgame observations\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2022 There was a great sequence late in the game. The Penguins were called for icing, which means you must keep the same five players on the ice.<\/p>\n Muse wanted Crosby on the ice, but it was ruled that Kindel was still on the ice when the infraction occurred. So, instead of having his best faceoff man on the ice, Muse had to rely on an 18-year-old.<\/p>\n No matter.<\/p>\n Kindel won the draw cleanly. Then, after the Penguins were unable to clear the puck against the surging Panthers, who were down two goals, Kindel got possession and cleared it himself.<\/p>\n Just another day at the office for a teenager who doesn\u2019t play like one.<\/p>\n \u201cJust in those moments, you have to have confidence in yourself to get the job done,\u201d Kindel said, \u201cand just get the puck out any way you can.\u201d<\/p>\n Muse noticed what he did.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been in that situation before,\u201d Muse said, referencing a preseason game when Kindel was on the ice for an extended shift in his own territory.<\/p>\n This youngster keeps getting better and better. Tonight was just another example.<\/p>\n \u2022 This was Crosby\u2019s finest game of the season, and not just because of the three points.<\/p>\n He looked more crisp and more engaged than at any point in the young season. He also looked a little annoyed all night with Anton Lundell. Crosby and the Florida center battled relentlessly all night, with Crosby initiating most of the contact. He was credited with a team-high four hits.<\/p>\n In the first period, Lundell and Bryan Rust had a battle and the Penguins saw Lundell throw a punch at Rust when he was down and unable to protect himself.<\/p>\n This is why Crosby was going after him all game. Crosby loves playing in this building and was in vintage form. For the season, he now has six goals and 11 points in eight games.<\/p>\n \u2022 Jarry was once again outstanding. Florida threw the kitchen sink at him during the final two periods.<\/p>\n The Penguins didn\u2019t play poorly, per se, but they were back on their heels most of the game. They played a relatively smart game and, in what has become a theme, didn\u2019t allow an exorbitant amount of odd-man rushes. That helped.<\/p>\n So did Jarry\u2019s performance. The Panthers were simply superior physically to the Penguins most of the night and they have this uncanny ability to overwhelm teams in the third period. The Penguins have experienced this many times in this building.<\/p>\n Jarry simply stood tall.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s big,\u201d Jarry said. \u201cIt\u2019s another chance to have fun and just kind of show who I am. That\u2019s kind of what I want to do this year, put my best foot forward.\u201d<\/p>\n So far, so good.<\/p>\n \u2022 Erik Karlsson was simply outstanding in this game, especially at even strength. He had a couple of assists, and that\u2019s great, but I\u2019m talking about his decision-making and his work in the defensive zone.<\/p>\n Karlsson is so gifted that he\u2019s always going to put up some points. We have learned with him that, when he\u2019s off in the defensive zone or in terms of the decisions that he makes, he can be a train wreck.<\/p>\n He held up nicely against the NHL\u2019s most physical team, skating circles around it at times. Really good stuff from him.<\/p>\n \u2022 Connor Dewar scored his third goal in eight games, and it was a big one.<\/p>\n It was also a sensationally awful one for Bobrovsky to allow.<\/p>\n Let him Dew his thing \ud83d\udc4f pic.twitter.com\/EMoR1twKaL<\/a><\/p>\n