Penguins vs. Golden Knights Recap: Andersson and Malkin Shots Cash

The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2 in regulation. Rasmus Andersson scored 1:06 into the game, Noah Hanifin made it 2-0 at 4:02 and Mark Stone scored on the power play at 17:46 for a 3-0 lead after one. Sidney Crosby answered on a Pittsburgh power play at 5:54 of the 2nd, but Trevor Connelly and Shea Theodore pushed it to 5-1. Evgeni Malkin scored at 4:43 of the 3rd before Brett Howden finished it at 17:47. Pittsburgh outshot Vegas 24-19, but Adin Hill made 22 saves while Sergei Murashov made 14 saves on 19 shots. Two DARIMARKET plays cashed on this game.

What cashed

Rasmus Andersson 2+ shots on goal (-160 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Andersson had 2+ shots in 7 of 9 games for Vegas and in each of his last 5 (3, 2, 4, 2, 3). Pittsburgh was also coming off a game in Colorado the night before. - What happened: He put 2 shots on goal in 20:35, clearing the line by 0.5. One of them was the opening goal at 1:06 of the 1st, set up by Jack Eichel and Stone. He had no power-play time. - Worth watching: He got both shots at even strength on a night Vegas only put 19 on goal as a team. The 20:35 of ice time is the floor that makes this angle work even when the team volume is low.

Evgeni Malkin 2+ shots on goal (-145 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Malkin had 2+ shots in 6 of 8 games this season and 8 of his last 10. With Chinakhov out, we expected more of the offense to run through him. - What happened: He put 2 shots on goal in 12:51, clearing the line by 0.5. One was his goal at 4:43 of the 3rd, assisted by Tommy Novak and Ville Koivunen. - Worth watching: 12:51 is light ice time for a shots prop and he had no power-play time, so the margin was thin. Check his minutes before backing the angle again.

How the game played out

The 1st period settled it. Vegas scored three times, two of them in the first 4:02, and Eichel and Stone were on both of the early goals. Pittsburgh got within 3-1 on Crosby's power-play goal, but Connelly scored 71 seconds later and the gap never closed.

Trends to watch

• Eichel had 2 assists and Stone had 1 goal and 2 assists. That top unit drove the early scoring.
• Pittsburgh had more shots but Murashov stopped 14 of the 19 he faced, a .737 save percentage.
• Vegas threw 27 hits to Pittsburgh's 10, and each team scored on its only power play.

Stats are from the ESPN box score. More on the NHL hub, in all NHL recaps and in our guide to the player prop.