In a fast-paced matchup at PPG Paints Arena on October 27, 2025, the St. Louis Blues dropped a 6-3 decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins, extending their skid to four games (0-3-1). The loss drops the Blues to 3-5-1 on the season, while Pittsburgh improved to 7-2-1, riding a hot streak of 5-0-1 in their last six outings.
The Penguins wasted no time asserting dominance, lighting the lamp twice in the opening 55 seconds on just their first two shots of the night. Bryan Rust opened the scoring at 0:39 with a backhand tip off an Erik Karlsson feed, followed 16 seconds later by Anthony Mantha’s tally on a setup from Evgeni Malkin, putting Pittsburgh up 2-0. The Blues clawed back in the first period, with Nick Bjugstad roofing a rebound at 4:15 (assisted by Nathan Walker) and Jordan Kyrou tying it at 2-2 on a wrist shot at 15:43, helped by Brayden Schenn. Kyrou’s goal extended his point streak to seven games (3G, 4A).
Pittsburgh regained the edge in the second period when Parker Wotherspoon capitalized on a delayed penalty at 6:37, roofing a cross-ice pass from Sidney Crosby to make it 3-2. The Penguins’ goaltender Tristan Jarry was sharp in net, turning aside 26 of 29 shots faced.
The third period saw the floodgates open early. Rust struck again at 0:42, deflecting a Karlsson point shot past Blues netminder Joel Hofer for a 4-2 lead—with Crosby’s secondary assist marking his 1,700th career NHL point, a milestone that made him just the ninth player in league history to reach it. Hofer, who made 20 saves in a tough night, kept St. Louis in it briefly as Mathieu Joseph sliced the deficit to 4-3 at 4:35 on an unassisted 2-on-1 snap shot. But Crosby sealed his big night with an unassisted rebound goal at 16:39, and Malkin iced it with an empty-netter at 16:59.
For the Blues, Bjugstad finished with a goal and assist, while Kyrou and Joseph each chipped in a goal. The team was without key forwards Robert Thomas (upper body) and Jake Neighbours (lower body), both day-to-day, though Alexey Toropchenko returned from a seven-game absence and fired three shots in limited ice time. Pittsburgh’s top line dominated, with Crosby (1G, 2A), Rust (2G, 1A), and Karlsson (3A) leading the charge.
The game wasn’t without off-ice drama: An adult male fan fell from the upper concourse to the lower bowl and was hospitalized, prompting well-wishes from Penguins coach Dan Muse.
St. Louis will look to snap their slide when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
