PITTSBURGH -- Penguins defenseman Kris Letang missed Saturday night's 4-3 win against San Jose with an illness.

It was his second straight game missed because of an illness; he also did not play in Pittsburgh's 6-2 loss at Columbus on Friday. Letang has two goals and four assists in 18 games.

Defenseman Owen Pickering, Pittsburgh's first-round pick in the 2022 draft, made his NHL debut Saturday. He had an assist in the win.

Forward Vasily Ponomarev also played his first game with the Penguins on Saturday. Ponomarev was acquired by Pittsburgh in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes for Jake Guentzel on March 7. A second-round pick in 2020, Ponomarev has two points in two NHL games.

The Penguins snapped a three-game losing streak. They traded veteran forward Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday following an ugly 7-1 home defeat against Dallas, in which Pittsburgh allowed six first-period goals.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.