The Pittsburgh Penguins just dominated the Detroit Red Wings on the road with a 4-1 victory and have now beaten them twice in three days. Detroit has been the top seed in the Atlantic Division and the Penguins took them down twice in a home-and-home and newcomer Yegor Chinakhov's goal, his first as a Penguin, stood as the game winner.
The young winger who was appearing in his second Penguins game, took a beautiful pass from Ben Kindel off a Red Wings change, went in on a breakaway and scored five-hole on John Gibson. It was an amazing pass from the 18-year-old and a great finish from Chinakhov.
YEGOR CHINAKHOV FIRST AS A PENGUIN 🐧
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) January 3, 2026
(via @espn) pic.twitter.com/EVlt0mbFSZ
Chinakhov seemed to not really fit in well with the Columbus Blue Jackets so that is when Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas swooped in not long ago and acquired the young winger. Chinakhov so far has proved Dubas right on why they acquired him.
He has the foot speed and the overall skill and quite a shot to keep up and showcase how he can really let the puck go. And putting him with Kindel gives the rookie a player that helps him find offense and keep possession of the puck and forecheck well.
A lot of Penguins fans did not like the cost of what it took to get Chinakhov, but so far, it does not seem like a bad price at all. So far in only two short games, the Penguins are getting what they paid for when they acquired Chinakhov.
It is a very small sample size, but the Penguins might have something in the young forward. Hopefully as the season goes on, Chinakhov is able to keep contributing offensively and keep skating right by defenders and helping create plays for his teammates.
The Penguins have needed a player of his caliber for quite some time now. And it seems like they have acquired the type of player that has been needed to get them rolling and back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.