Conklin delivers Penguins a shutout

The third-string goalie led Pittsburgh to its sixth straight win over Florida.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — It took a third-string goalie to get the Pittsburgh Penguins to play their best hockey.

Ty Conklin made 35 saves for his second shutout and seventh victory in seven starts this season, and the Penguins won their sixth straight with a 3-0 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

“You knows he’s feeling confidence in there,” Pittsburgh defenseman Ryan Whitney said. “Pucks are hitting him and there’s no second shots. He’s smothering rebounds and doing a great job. I think the whole team feeds off him because you can tell in practice and in games he’s just in one of those grooves right now.”

Conklin, who is in the NHL only because of an ankle injury to starter Marc-Andre Fleury, has started each of the past six contests and allowed only eight goals in that time.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin each had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Kennedy also scored an early goal for the Penguins, who have won eight of 10, are 15-5 in their past 20 and have a five-game winning streak at home.

“Its nice, mostly because the team’s been plying so well,” said Conklin, who was 11-7 in 18 starts for Pittsburgh’s AHL team in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. “Everything’s a lot more fun when you win.”

Kennedy gave Pittsburgh all the offense it needed by scoring his eighth of the season — and second in two games — 4:26 into the contest when he one-timed a pass from Jordan Staal past Tomas Vokoun. The goal tied Kennedy for fourth among NHL rookies.

Less than two minutes later, Malkin scored his fourth in two games while on the power play, slamming home a rebound of Ryan Whitney’s shot for his team-high 19th of the season.

More than 50 minutes of scoreless hockey followed until Crosby’s wrist shot while in the slot beat Vokoun with 2:41 left.

“The effort speaks for itself,” Vokoun said. “You know, the game could have been over after five minutes or 10 minutes. There’s not really much to say about it.”

Conklin’s best save might have been when he caught Brett McLean’s shot with his glove while sprawled on the ice early in the second period. Conklin also stopped David Booth on a shot from the slot with about six minutes to play.