A courtroom secretary’s presence would have been welcomed to keep track of it all.

There were all sorts of infractions Friday night at Amerant Bank Arena, as the Penguins and Panthers combined for 13 penalties, including two double-minors and a 10-minute misconduct. Despite the Penguins spending more than twice as much time on the power play, though, they could muster only one point in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Panthers.

The Penguins had been propelled for the most part by their power play in recent weeks, evidenced by entering the contest with the NHL’s fourth-best unit. Despite converting seven of their last 12 chances, though, the Penguins’ red-hot attack cooled slightly, scoring on two of seven opportunities with a man advantage.

Sidney Crosby tallied a beautiful goal from the slot midway through the second period on the Penguins’ fourth power play, turning on a no-look, backhand feed from Bryan Rust to even the score. Rickard Rakell scored the Penguins’ other goal with just 40 seconds remaining in regulation, doing so shortly after Tristan Jarry was pulled for an extra skater to make it 6-on-4.

But the Panthers persevered during the shootout, as neither Rakell nor Crosby could tickle the twine. Meanwhile, Florida’s Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell both scored to keep the Penguins from their third and final attempt.

The Panthers twice took leads in regulation earlier before ultimately winning outright. Defenseman Gustav Forsling scored for Florida less than a minute into the second period, and Matthew Tkachuk deflected in a wrist shot by Carter Verhaeghe on the power play.

While the Penguins demonstrated ample perseverance in clawing back from two deficits, they could only secure a loser’s point on a night dominated by special teams.

Hayes draws back in

Veteran forward Kevin Hayes hadn’t drawn into the Penguins’ lineup in nearly a month prior to Friday night as he entered for Anthony Beauvillier. Hayes, whom the Penguins acquired from the St. Louis Blues over the offseason, had been a healthy scratch since Dec. 10.

After the morning skate on Friday, Hayes discussed his benching with reporters in Florida.

“It’s never fun not being in the lineup,” Hayes said. “Team was playing well, and I think I need to play better. When the team’s doing good, it’s always hard to come back in.”

Hayes returned to coach Mike Sullivan’s lineup and slotted in as the third line center, a turnstile spot of sorts since Lars Eller was traded to the Washington Capitals in the fall. Hayes was the fifth different player to man the middle for the third line since Eller was dealt, and didn’t look out of place Friday.

He played with more pace than earlier in the season, which Hayes said was in part what Sullivan asked of him in returning to the Penguins’ lineup. Hayes was a willing sniper, too, firing a team-high five shots on goal yet coming up empty-handed.

With Hayes in the middle, the Penguins’ third line also controlled play, evidenced by a team-best 69.21% expected-goals share, per Natural Stat Trick.

Pickering’s play

Rookie defenseman Owen Pickering came back into the fold after missing six games with a concussion.

The 20-year-old lefty skated on the right side of a pairing with Ryan Graves, which Pickering said pregame wasn’t an unfamiliar assignment. Pickering played on the right side a good amount at the junior level, as well as with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

It wasn’t a picture-perfect return for Pickering, though, who struggled a bit before sustaining his concussion. He committed an ugly turnover in the Penguins’ end midway through the second period, but the Panthers came up empty on a golden scoring chance.

All told, Pickering’s return was a welcome one, considering he’s been one of the Penguins’ six best defensemen when healthy this season. So long as Kris Letang, who is dealing with a lower-body injury, remains on injured reserve, Pickering figures to get some runway in the hopes of steadying his play.

Whenever Letang does return, though, it’ll be curious to see how the Penguins manage their defensemen depth.

Rust’s night of milestones

Bryan Rust skated in his 600th career NHL game, becoming just the 11th player in Penguins history to play in 600 games with the team. The veteran wing also became the eighth player in Penguins franchise history to skate in his first 600 career NHL games with the club.

Prior to the contest, Rust took some time to reflect on that milestone with reporters in Florida.

"One, it means I'm getting old," Rust said. "Two, it's crazy how time flies. I think it definitely brings me a lot of pride knowing I've been in the league this long that I've played now almost 600 games, and I think hopefully there's many more."

Rust also tallied his 400th career point when assisting on Crosby’s power-play goal. With that assist, Rust became the ninth player in Penguins franchise history to record his first 400 career points with the team.

A two-time Stanley Cup champion, Rust has accomplished plenty with the Penguins. But, he’s in the midst of arguably his finest NHL season to date, even with an injury slowing him down earlier in the season. Through 33 games this year, Rust has 15 goals and 13 assists, putting him on track to set a new career-high in goals. He set his watermark of 28 last season.

Ice chips

— Philip Tomasino exited the game early in the third period after taking an awkward tumble into the end boards. Tomasino’s right skate appeared to get caught in the bottom of the board and cause his knee to buckle. He required assistance to get off the ice, and did not return to the game due to what the Penguins described as a lower-body injury.

— In addition to Beauvillier, Ryan Shea was a healthy scratch after skating in the Penguins’ last seven games. Jesse Puljujarvi was the team’s final healthy scratch Friday, marking the 11th straight contest he watched from the press box.

— Ryan Graves took a blade to the face in the first period from Florida’s Sam Reinhart, who was assessed a double-minor penalty. Graves briefly departed for the dressing room, but returned later in the period.

— Letang skated with the team Friday morning but missed his third straight game as he remains on injured reserve.

— The Penguins made a minor league trade Friday afternoon, acquiring left-shot defenseman Colton Poolman from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for forward Bennett MacArthur. Poolman, 29, has spent the entirety of his pro career in the AHL and will report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

— In a separate minor league trade, the Penguins dealt forward Jagger Joshua to the AHL’s Rochester Americans in exchange for future considerations. Joshua, the younger brother of Vancouver Canucks forward Dakota Joshua, appeared in 74 games for the Baby Pens across parts of two seasons.

Coming up

The Penguins will practice on Saturday in the Raleigh-Durham area ahead of squaring off with the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday evening. It marks the final of three meetings between the teams this season, and the Hurricanes won the first two games by a combined score of 9-2.

©2025 PG Publishing Co. Visit at post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.