PITTSBURGH -- If Pittsburgh Penguins rookie defenceman Olli Maatta was nervous, it certainly didnt show. Maatta sealed the Penguins season-high sixth straight victory when he scored on a third-period penalty shot Thursday night, and Pittsburgh beat the Minnesota Wild 5-2. "I was nervous, for sure, but I think thats the only move that Ive got and it worked," Maatta said. "I thought he got it at first and then I saw it go in so I was pretty excited." Chris Kunitz scored his 19th goal, Pascal Dupuis and Brandon Sutter each scored for the second consecutive game, and defenceman Matt Niskanen also tallied for Pittsburgh, which has won 11 of 12 overall and a season-high nine straight home games. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby added two assists, extending his season-best point streak to nine games. He leads the league with 51 points. Jason Pominville netted his team-high 16th goal and Dany Heatley scored 3:13 into the third period for the Wild, turning a three-goal deficit into a 4-2 game. "We were not ready to play the game hard enough and thats something that we have to look at ourselves in the mirror," said Wild head coach Mike Yeo, a former assistant at Pittsburgh. "To come out and get out-battled and outworked was disappointing." The Wild had an opportunity to make it a one-goal game shortly after with a 5-on-3 power play for 1:46, but the Penguins killed both penalties. Maatta was awarded a penalty shot after he was hauled down by Jonas Brodin on a breakaway while coming out of the penalty box. "Thats the game, depending on what happens there," Crosby said. "If they score on that power play its a different game and theyre one away from tying it." Instead, the 19-year-old Maatta, who made the team out of training camp, scored his third career goal on his first career penalty shot, part of a his first career three-point night. He is the second defenceman in team history to score on a penalty shot. "To step up on a penalty shot like that, and put it in was huge," Crosby said. "Its nice to see him capitalize. Hes been playing well for us all year." Maatta and Niskanen, his defence partner, have also shouldered the load while five of the teams top six defenceman missed a third straight game. The bigger role for the young rookie includes increased minutes -- he played almost a career-best 30 Wednesday night -- and matchups against the oppositions top line. "Thats a tall order, but the confidence and steadiness and consistency in which he played has been maybe the best in the last three or four games," Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said of Maatta. The Penguins, playing for the fifth time in nine nights, were also without star forward Evgeni Malkin for the third straight game. Malkin, third in the league in scoring, injured his left leg last Saturday at Detroit. Penguins forward James Neal returned to the lineup following a five-game suspension for kneeing Bostons Brad Marchand in the head during a 3-2 loss to the Bruins. Neal was involved in a fight and had an assist. The Wild are in the midst of a stretch where they play seven of eight on the road. They played their first game without starting goalie Josh Harding, who was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. Its a move that allows Harding time to make adjustments to medication for his multiple sclerosis. Harding, expected to return Dec. 27 at Winnipeg, led the league in goals-against average and ranked second in save percentage entering Thursday. It was a homecoming for Wild forward Matt Cooke, playing his first game in Pittsburgh where he spent five seasons before leaving this past summer by free agency. Cooke, an instrumental piece of the Penguins 2009 Stanley Cup run, has just 20 penalty minutes in 36 games this season, but he was a polarizing figure in Pittsburgh, serving multiple suspensions for several hits. He was recognized in the first period with a scoreboard video tribute. Dupuis opened the scoring 49 seconds into the game, slamming home a rebound from the top of the crease. Niklas Backstrom had trouble handling the initial shot, giving up a rebound -- tipped in the air by Crosby -- that fell into the paint, allowing Dupuis to give the Penguins the early lead. The Penguins struck less than two minutes into the second period as Sutter scored his eighth of the season, a turning shot from the left faceoff dot. Niskanen, who also logged nearly 30 minutes of ice time Wednesday at New York, netted a power-play goal less than two minutes later with a slap shot from the point that got past a screened Backstrom. Kunitz gave the Penguins a 4-0 lead seconds after a fight between Neal and Wild defenceman Keith Ballard, the third fight in two periods. Crosby set up the goal with a no-look backhand pass from the corner to Kunitz, who buried a one-timer past Backstrom. Pominville got the Wild on the board 37 seconds later, re-directing Nino Niederreiters shot behind Jeff Zatkoff, who won his sixth straight game. NOTES: The Penguins are 21-2 when scoring the first goal. .... Penguins forward Jayson Megna will miss the next six weeks with a lower body injury. . Justin Fontaine, former Penguin Mike Rupp and Nate Prosser were healthy scratches for Minnesota, while Brian Gibbons sat out for Pittsburgh. The Penguins host Calgary Saturday, while Minnesota visits the New York Rangers on Sunday. Jim Brown Jersey . The veteran fighter will be squaring off with Henderson in a five-round lightweight bout as part of another network televised card at the United Center on Saturday night. Wholesale Cleveland Browns Jerseys . Obasi chested the ball past one defender, prodded it past another and then rounded the keeper before scoring from a tight angle in the 16th minute. Seconds after the restart, Obasi set up Klaas Jan Huntelaar for the Dutchmans 11th goal from 13 games this season. http://www.cheapbrownsjerseysauthentic.c...e-thomas-jersey. PETERSBURG, Fla. Sheldrick Redwine Jersey . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. Sione Takitaki Jersey . The Brad Jacobs team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., advanced to Fridays championship game with a 10-6 win over Chinas Rui Liu in the semifinal.TORONTO -- Marcus Stroman deserved better than this. The rookie right-hander took a one-hitter into the seventh inning on Saturday only to have the game fall apart for him and the Toronto Blue Jays on one swing. When the first pitch from reliever Dustin McGowan was sent into the left-field seats by right-fielder Dayan Viciedo, the Chicago White Sox were on the way to a 4-3 victory on Saturday. "Its tough to deal with," Stroman said. "Its part of baseball. I have 100 per cent faith in Dustin to come in and get that out every time. If he makes a pitch like he knows he can, were not even having this conversation." Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said he had his reasons for removing Stroman when he did. "If you could do things over, you leave him in," Gibbons said. "But my thinking was, he pitched his butt off, it was kind of uncharted territory, I dont want him to lose the game right there. Thats the way it goes. But you always look back on things like that. I had a plan and it just didnt work." The Blue Jays scored one run in the ninth inning as their late rally fell short for the second game in a row. White Sox left-hander Chris Sale (7-1) also pitched well, holding the Blue Jays to four hits and five walks while striking out six to pick up his first career win in three decisions against Toronto. "They wore him down a bit," said Chicago manager Robin Ventura. "They were fighting off some tough pitches." The only runs Sale allowed came on a two-run homer by right-fielder Darin Mastroianni in the fourth. Stroman was strong over 6 2/3 innings, allowing two hits, two walks and two runs while striking out six. He did not factor in the decision in his sixth career major-league start. "Stroman, he was great tonight," Sale said. "He threw better than I did. Obviously, you throw like that, you deserve to win a game." Stroman allowed a second-inning double to White Sox designated hitter Adam Dunn and then walked him to lead off the fifth and nothing more through six innings. But in the seventh inning, White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu doubled with two out to extend his career-best hitting streak to 13 games and Dunn walked for the second time in the game. McGowan (4-3) came in from the bullpen and his first-pitch slider was launched over the fence by Viciedo for his eighth homer of the season and a 3-2 Chicago lead. "Its tough because obviously I want to be out there," Stroman said. "I felt strong but Im also a young so that was Gibbys choice. Dustin has been great for us all year so its not like I was mad about coming out of the game. "I had 100 per cent confidence for Dustin to come in and get that out. Just one of those things and Im sure hell be right back to it." Gibbons disscussed the weight of his decision after the loss.dddddddddddd "This game eats at you, you review everything, you do more so at the moment of something," Gibbons said. "You get a little gun shy around this place, the way the ball has been flying out of here, especially after (Friday) night (when the teams combined for seven home runs)." The White Sox added a run in the eighth on a single by pinch hitter Alexei Ramirez against reliever Aaron Loup. The left-hander replaced McGowan after two-out singles by centre-fielder Adam Eaton and second baseman Gordon Beckham. Chicago loaded the bases in the ninth with none out against Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen but could not score. The White Sox (38-44) have won two in a row over the Blue Jays (45-38) to assure themselves of a split in the four-game series. Right-hander Zach Putnam who got the final out of the eighth stayed in the game for the ninth and allowed a leadoff double by pinch hitter Anthony Gose. Second baseman Munenori Kawasaki singled him home to cut the lead to one but Putnam held firm to earn his first save of the season. It was a disappointing result for Stroman who was coming off a strong win over the New York Yankees last Tuesday when he allowed three hits and one run in eight innings. It looked like his day when the Blue Jays took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. It came from an unexpected source. Mastroianni, just called up from triple-A Buffalo where he has been most of the season, snapped a 0-for-14 streak to open this season in the majors by taking a 3-2 change-up to left for a two-run homer. It was his fourth career homer in the majors with the first three coming with the Minnesota Twins in 2012. It came after Colby Rasmus took a two-out walk. "Its important for me," Mastroianni said. "I want to try to help keep this team is in first place. a (Sale) just has stuff going everywhere, arms flying everywhere, he throws that change-up and then all of a sudden here comes 95. "He threw me a lot of change-ups that at-bat. He probably made a bit of a mistake, left that ball up over the plate more than I know he would have liked to." NOTES: Announced attendance at Rogers Centre was 39,623. aBefore the game on Saturday the Blue Jays recalled outfielder Darin Mastroianni from triple-A Buffalo, where he was batting .289 with four homers in 69 games, and returned LHP Rob Rasmussen on option to the Bisons. Mastroianni started in right field. a Left-hander Mark Buehrle (10-4) will start the series finale on Sunday for the Blue Jays against his former team. The White Sox will start left-hander Jose Quintana (4-7, 3.69). aThe Blue Jays have Monday off before they complete the home stand with two afternoon games against the Milwaukee Brewers. 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