Penguins vs. Panthers: Arturs Silovs Blanks Florida and Spoils Cooper Black's Record-Setting Debut

Cooper Black made NHL history the second he stepped into the Florida crease on Thursday night. At 6-foot-9, the Panthers rookie became the tallest goalie ever to appear in an NHL regular-season game. The Pittsburgh Penguins were not interested in being part of the celebration.

Arturs Silovs stopped all 26 shots he faced, Nick Robertson scored twice, and the Penguins snapped a four-game skid with a 4-0 win over the Panthers at PPG Paints Arena. Evgeni Malkin and Hendrix Lapierre each had a goal and an assist, and Florida, playing its second game in two nights, went 0-for-4 on the power play and never really showed up for its own goalie's big night.

A Debut That Deserved Better

Black got the call from Florida's AHL affiliate in Charlotte after Jacob Markstrom sustained a shoulder injury, and he held up fine in the early going, which is more than could be said for the skaters in front of him. They looked like they had left their legs in Ottawa the night before. Per NHL.com, the tallest goalies in league history before him were Ben Bishop, Mikko Koskinen, Ivan Fedotov and Mads Sogaard, all listed at 6-foot-7. Black also tied skaters Zdeno Chara, Curtis Douglas and Matt Rempe as the tallest players the NHL has ever seen.

Pittsburgh finally solved him at 15:19 of the first. Robertson took a pass from Connor Dewar, drifted into the high slot and beat Black over the glove with a wrist shot, with Kris Letang picking up the second assist.

The Penguins doubled it at 9:59 of the second on the prettiest sequence of the night. Malkin carried the puck the length of the ice on a 3-on-2, moved it to Ville Koivunen, and Koivunen found Lapierre, who pulled the puck from his backhand to his forehand and finished from just off the crease.

Then came the sequence that summed up Florida's evening. At 16:17 of the second, Silovs himself was whistled for a double minor for high-sticking Sam Bennett, with Andrei Kuzmenko serving the time. Four full minutes of power play, courtesy of the opposing goaltender. The Panthers did not register a single shot on goal.

Malkin made it 3-0 just 1:40 into the third, sliding the puck under a diving Gustav Forsling, collecting it on the other side and beating Black under the glove. The AP noted it was his third goal in four games. Robertson closed it with an empty-netter at 17:34, set up by Dewar and Blake Lizotte.

Silovs Shuts the Door, Robertson Finishes

Silovs was only tested in spurts, but perfect is perfect: 26 shots, 26 saves, his second shutout of the season and the fourth of his career. He framed it as a mindset more than a performance.

"I think today, we're desperate," Silovs said. "We're trying to win every single battle and get every single puck. That worked for us."

Robertson's two goals came in 14:06 of ice time and gave him six on the season, tying Malkin for the team lead, per NHL.com. "We didn't let off the gas," he said, which is a fair summary of a night when Pittsburgh never trailed.

Malkin had his goal and an assist in 12:54. Lapierre won seven of his 12 faceoffs to go with his goal and assist, Dewar had two helpers, and Spencer Stastney finished plus-3 with an assist on the Malkin goal. Coach Dan Muse shuffled his lines looking for a spark, and the depth answered.

For Black, the numbers were 18 saves on 21 shots and an .857 save percentage in 57:05. He did not hide from what went wrong. "I think two of their goals, they kind of just waited me out, maybe, a little bit," he said. "I think (you) just learn from the mistakes, right?"

Turning Point: Four Minutes, Zero Shots

A two-goal lead late in the second is comfortable, not safe. A four-minute power play is exactly the kind of gift a team with Florida's skill usually cashes in, and one goal there turns a comfortable night into a one-goal game.

Instead, Florida came up empty without even testing Silovs, and Malkin scored early in the third to end the discussion. Matthew Tkachuk did not pretend otherwise.

"It's very frustrating to have a back to back, quick turnaround like this and lay an egg like we did tonight," Tkachuk said. "It's not even how we're losing, it's the way we're playing."

Stats That Matter

• 0-for-4: Florida's power play, including the double minor without a single shot on goal.
• 26: Saves for Silovs, which is also the number of shots Florida took. Do the math.
• 32-10: Florida's edge in hits. Lots of contact, very little danger.
• 23-15: Giveaways, Florida against Pittsburgh. The Panthers kept handing the puck back.
• 34-28: Pittsburgh's advantage in the faceoff circle.

What It Means

The Penguins are 4-6-1 with nine points, and this one needed to happen. They came in having lost four straight, 1-6-1 over their previous eight, after a Western Conference road trip that included losses at Chicago, Colorado, Vegas and Utah. Per NHL.com, they had allowed at least five goals in each of those last four games. On Thursday they allowed zero, and they are now 3-1-0 at home.

"Huge credit to the players," Muse said. "But we've talked about consistency, that's right up there in terms of being the most consistent game of the year." Nashville visits Saturday.

Florida drops to 5-4-2 with 12 points, and the three-game winning streak it brought into Ottawa has turned into two lopsided losses, 5-1 there and 4-0 here. Coach Paul Maurice put the problem on his own desk.

"I've got to figure out where it's coming from. I think it's coming from me," Maurice said. "So, we've got a good 48 hours to grind on that and come up with an answer." The four-game road trip continues Sunday in Chicago.

A Tall Tale With the Wrong Ending

Black will own a trivia answer forever, and he deserved a better supporting cast for the occasion. But this night belonged to the goalie at the other end, who shoved a miserable Western road trip into the rearview mirror with one clean sheet.

Maurice's final word felt like a coach heading to the film room with a highlighter. "I just need to get their attention," he said. Silovs and the Penguins certainly got it on Thursday.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press and NHL.com; postgame quotes as reported by NHL.com.