![]() ![]() Matt Duchene and Nick Cousins had goals for Nashville, which lost its second straight. “Down the stretch, the points are so important, especially now when we’re fighting for position.” “It’s fun being in an emotional game like that,” Crosby said. Casey DeSmith stopped 33 shots for Pittsburgh, which regained a four-point advantage over Washington for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Jason Zucker also scored in regulation and Rakell assisted on all three goals for the Penguins, who have only three wins in their last 10 games. "Sid was on the back door, so I tried to get it to him,” Rakell said. On his latest winner, Crosby got a pass from Rikard Rakell and tipped it behind David Rittich near the post. Crosby took sole possession of first on the NHL’s all-time overtime points list and scored his 19th career overtime goal, tying Jagr for second most. It was also Crosby’s 77th game-winning goal, one behind Evgeni Malkin and Jaromir Jagr for the most in team history. It was his 158th career three-point game, tying Guy Lafleur and Joe Sakic for 11th in league history. “He leads by example, just how he plays the game and I thought he was a consistent threat all night.”Ĭrosby added an assist in his 1,100th game, becoming the seventh-fastest - and third active - player in NHL history to reach the 1,400-point milestone. “When Sid elevates his game, like he did tonight, it gives our whole bench a boost,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. Pittsburgh's captain took care of both with a flick of the wrist in overtime.Ĭrosby scored the second of his two goals at 2:21 of overtime for his 1,400th career point, helping the Penguins end a four-game skid with a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Sunday. The Penguins were mired in a lengthy, late-season losing streak and Crosby sat on the precipice of another NHL milestone. PITTSBURGH - Sidney Crosby decided enough was enough. NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins, Nashville Predators ![]() The 5-on-3 power play goal from Malkin, however, got the ball rolling for the Penguins after the disallowed goal turned the tide.Crosby gives Pens OT win over Preds, reaches 1,400 points Honestly, it could be Subban’s no-goal, or Guentzel’s game-winner. Both sides have deadly power play systems, and games could be made or broken because of it. The longer this series goes, the more likely less and less penalties will be called given their game-changing nature. Nashville’s first two goals were scored with the extra man, while Evgeni Malkin got the Penguins up 1-0 on a 5-on-3. The Predators went two-for-three and the Penguins went 1-for-3 on their respective power play chances. Power plays could be the difference maker in the long-term The Predators battled back, but the latter half of the first period was where this game was lost. Pittsburgh took advantage of their hesitation and made it 3-0 almost in the blink of an eye - more like four minutes and change. After all, this is their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final. The Predators had been dominating up until then, and the loss of an opening goal clearly rattled Nashville. The story early in Game 1 before the Penguins collapsed in on themselves for 37 minutes was the overturned Subban goal. Hockey is already a hard sport to predict, but Game 1 was quite the analytics nightmare. ![]() I think it’s fair to say Game 1 is a strange anomaly that you could likely not repeat however many times you try. Hockey flies in the face of everything you know about this world Penguins 5, Predators 3 (Pittsburgh leads 1-0) Three Things We Learned Though Game 1 went in their favor, it will be an uphill climb to win the next one should they not find a way to improve their game. ![]() It seems highly unlikely the Penguins can win a series against the Predators if they keep playing this way. The Predators dominated the game outside of a span of four minutes, which in turn was their ultimate downfall. There’s no real sense to what happened in the Stanley Cup Final opener. If you’re thinking Game 1 was the most incredible, nonsensical game of hockey you have watched, you’re probably right. Subban was disallowed, the Penguins scored on a 5-on-3 that probably shouldn’t have been, and the Predators scored an own-goal to end the period. The Penguins got to where they were after the first period thanks to a wacky opening 20 minutes. ![]()
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