Mantha and Acciari score twice, Penguins running winning streak to 6 by holding off the Rangers 6-5

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Anthony Mantha and Noel Acciari scored two goals apiece, and the surging Pittsburgh Penguins held off the New York Rangers 6-5 on Saturday for their sixth straight victory.

Mantha and Acciari beat Jonathan Quick twice in a span of just over three minutes early in the first period to give the Penguins an early cushion. Mantha made it 3-0 with an easy tap-in in the second period. Acciari and Rickard Rakell scored 20 seconds apart early in the third to push Pittsburgh's advantage to 5-1 on a night the franchise celebrated the 10th anniversary of the 2016 club that won the Stanley Cup.

Erik Karlsson became the 12th defenseman in NHL history to reach 700 career assists when he picked up the secondary helper on Rakell's 10th goal of the season 1:20 into the final period. The other 11 defensemen to reach the 700-assist plateau are in the Hall of Fame.

Stuart Skinner improved to 8-1 in his last nine starts but nearly let a four-goal third period get away.

Alex Lafreniere scored twice for the Rangers. Vincent Trocheck, Vladislav Gavrikov and Will Cuylle all scored during a late rally, but it wasn't enough for the Rangers to fall to 2-10 since goaltender Igor Shesterkin was lost indefinitely with a lower-body injury.

Until the late surge, New York coach Mike Sullivan — who guided the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 during a decade-long run as head coach before trading Pittsburgh for New York last summer — watched his team spend most of the afternoon putting up little fight against the surprising Penguins.

Pittsburgh moved into second place by itself in the Metropolitan Division with the victory despite being without veteran defenseman Kris Letang, who will miss at least a month with a fractured left foot sustained in a win over Chicago on Thursday. The 20-year veteran was wearing a protective boot on the foot during a pregame ceremony honoring the 2016 club.

Rangers: Off until Thursday night, when they host Carolina in the final game before the Olympic break.

Penguins: Host Ottawa on Monday night.

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New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan, center top, yells instructions during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick gloves a shot during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Noel Acciari (55) celebrates after his goal with teammate Ilya Solovyov (7) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Members of the 2016 Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby, left, Evgeni Malkin, center, and Kris Letang take part in a celebration of the 10th anniversary before an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Anthony Mantha, center, celebrates in the second period with Evgeni Malkin, left, and Sidney Crosby, right, after his second goal of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

CARACAS (AP) — U.S. charge d’affaires Laura Dogu arrived in Caracas on Saturday to reopen the American diplomatic mission in Venezuela after seven years of severed ties.

The move comes almost one month after a military action ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump removed the South American country's then-leader Nicolás Maduro from office.

“My team and I are ready to work,” Dogu said in a message posted by the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela 's account on X. It also posted pictures of her upon her landing at Maiquetia airport.

Venezuela and the United States broke off diplomatic relations in February 2019 in a decision by Maduro. They closed their embassies mutually after Trump gave public support to lawmaker Juan Guaidó who claimed to be the nation’s interim president in January that year.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, one of Venezuela's most powerful politicians and a Maduro loyalist, said earlier in January that reopening the U.S. embassy would give the Venezuelan government a way to oversee the treatment of the deposed president, who is jailed in the U.S.

Venezuela's foreign minister Yván Gil said in a message on Telegram that Dogu's arrival is part of a joint schedule to “deal with and resolve existing differences through diplomatic dialogue, in a foundation of mutual respect and (based on) international law.”

Dogu, who was previously ambassador in Nicaragua and Honduras, arrived in Venezuela one day after the country's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, announced an amnesty bill to release political prisoners. That move was one of the key demands of the Venezuelan opposition.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

This story has been corrected to show that Dogu's title is charge d’affaires, not ambassador.

Government supporters carry a cutout of former President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores during a rally marking the anniversary of the 1958 coup that overthrew Venezuelan dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez, in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)