PITTSBURGH — Sunday at PPG Paints Arena, Sidney Crosby hopped off the bench – and right onto the score sheet.
Less than five minutes into the game, deadline day addition Rickard Rakell found the Penguins captain streaking into the offensive zone. Crosby beat Nashville backup goalie David Rittich on the blocker side to give Pittsburgh the early lead in his 1,100th career game.
The Penguins, who entered the game having lost seven of their last nine, were desperate for that kind of spark to set the stage for a response game.
Instead, it was one of the few bright spots in a sluggish first period. The Penguins tallied just four shots through the first 25 minutes, and their inconsistent net-front defense allowed numerous point-blank chances for the Predators. But backup goalie Casey DeSmith stood tall, making 33 saves, and the Penguins stuck with it, getting better as the game went on.
Finally, Crosby bookended his three-point afternoon with an overtime game winner, as the Penguins beat the Predators, 3-2. Rakell once again recorded the primary assist during a three-point game. It was Crosby’s 1,400th career point in his 1,100th career game.
After losing their last four games in regulation, the Penguins earned their first points in April. They remain three points ahead of the Washington Capitals for third place in the Metropolitan Division with eight games remaining. The Capitals have nine left.
After Crosby's first-period goal, the Penguins struggled to create chances, producing just two other shots in the frame. Eventually, Nashville evened the score at 1 with just 1:11 left in the first. Defenseman Marcus Pettersson tried to step up on Matt Duchene to deny a zone entry. Instead, Pettersson ended up face-first on the ice and the puck ended up in the back of the net, as DeSmith was hung out to dry on a partial breakaway.
The Penguins continued to spend most of their time defending in the second period. Thirty minutes into the game, they had recorded a whopping total of just seven shots.
DeSmith, who had been such a question mark earlier this season, stood tall on numerous occasions to keep the game within reach. The best of the bunch came in the second period, when he stretched out his left pad to make a 10-bell save on Tanner Jeannot.
Moments later, Jeannot once again found himself in the middle of a different kind of highlight. Defenseman Kris Letang got bulldozed behind the play by Jeannot. Mike Matheson, who skated alongside Letang during a game in which the Penguins shook up all three defensive pairs, came to Letang’s defense. Matheson dropped the gloves for just the second time in his career and exchanged several good blows.
Tempers continued to flare even after the horn sounded to end the second. Evgeni Malkin got into a spat with Mark Borowiecki. Malkin cross checked Borowiecki in the face, drawing blood, as both players went to the box.
Then, on the ensuing penalty kill, Brian Boyle committed a slashing penalty to give the Predators 35 seconds of 5-on-3 time. The Penguins successfully snuffed out that threat.
But just moments after they got to even strength, Matheson's clearing attempt hit Nick Cousins right on the tape. He beat DeSmith from the high slot to give the Predators a 2-1 lead 15:29 left. It would have been hard to fault DeSmith too much on either of the two goals he allowed.
Given the Penguins recent struggles to produce offense, it appeared that could have stood as the game-winner. But the Penguins evened the score at 2 with 11:04 remaining.
Once again, Crosby played a leading role. The captain found Jason Zucker racing through the slot. Zucker, in just his second game back from injury, backhanded it past Rittich.
That late goal set the stage for overtime, where Crosby again played the hero.
The Penguins now have just eight games left in the regular season. They travel to play the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
