Evgeni Malkin gave the Penguins their first lead of the season 23 seconds into the second period Thursday night to spark a 2-0 win over the Ottawa Senators.
And really, it was not a moment too soon.
Malkin skated in from the right wing, balanced on one foot, then lined a shot just inside goalie Craig Anderson’s blocker for his first goal of the season.
Just 2:02 later, rookie Daniel Sprong scored the first goal of his NHL career.
Sprong roofed a shot past Anderson from the hash marks in the slot off a feed from Matt Cullen and jumped up against the boards to celebrate the milestone.