Steve Sullivan scored his eighth goal of the season, getting the Penguins on the board first when Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen misjudged how much free space he had to work the puck. Clemmensen turned it over to Matt Cooke, who fed Sullivan for the easy score.
With five minutes gone in the period, Eric Tangradi and Erik Gudbranson decided to have it out. Tangradi lost his balance after throwing a single punch. The two were each awarded five minute fighting penalties.
Stephen Weiss was called for tripping Richard Park with nine minutes gone in the period, putting the Penguins on their third power play of the night. Florida cleared the puck three times over the two minute penalty kill, not allowing any shots.
With four minutes to play in the second, Versteeg, Weiss, Garrison and Campbell each got at least a shot on goal on an extended volley against Penguins goaltender Fleury, but nobody buried the equalizer.
The Penguins managed to score, with Evgeny Malkin stuffing his own rebound home for his 18th of the season after he was stopped on a two-on-one break by a Clemmensen save with only 35 seconds left in the period.
Hits: Penguins, 26-20
Blocked Shots: Penguins, 8-6
Faceoffs: Panthers, 24-20
Shots On Goal: Penguins, 32-17
Score: Penguins 2, Panthers 0