When the Pittsburgh Penguins faced the daunting task of neutralizing Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night, they responded with one of their best first-period performances of the season en route to a 5-3 at PPG Paints Arena.
After starting its five-game homestand by taking a 3-1 lead in the third period and losing in a shootout to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, Pittsburgh took a 4-1 lead and never looked back.
A memorable evening (again)
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is now the ninth leading scorer in NHL history, surpassing Hall of Famer Joe Sakic with another three-point night with a goal and two assists.
In the first, he set up Bryan Rust for his 16th goal to make it 2-1 in favor of the home team. He later assisted in Drew O’Connor’s sixth game of the year to extend the Penguins’ lead to 4-1.
Finally, during a power play at the start of the second period, Crosby scored his 12th thanks to a nice pass from Michael Bunting.
Meanwhile, Rust was three points shy of 32 this year, becoming the ninth player in Pittsburgh history to have eight or more seasons with at least 30 points.
Bend, but don’t break
Pittsburgh led 4-1 after the first period, extending that lead to 5-1 in the second before the Oilers cut the lead to 5-3 heading into the second intermission.
After 20 minutes, the Penguins had nearly doubled the Oilers with 13-7 shots, but would only muster 13 more over the final 40 minutes. Meanwhile, the visitors found their second wind and fired 36 shots at Alex Nedeljkovic in the second and third periods.
Fortunately, the Penguins had built a strong league and could contain one of the most dynamic offenses in the league. Unlike previous times when Pittsburgh blew a two-goal lead, they held on to this one and suffered an average loss of 4-0 compared to the start of the season.
Who starts against Ottawa?
Nedeljkovic was terrific Thursday night, making 40 saves and allowing two goals at even strength and one on the power play. He finished the contest with a .930 SV%
Interestingly, his performance against Edmonton marked the first time this season he finished with more than 40 saves and only the second time a Pittsburgh goalie made that many saves in a game.
Of course, the last time was against the Oilers on October 25, when Joel Blomqvist made 46 saves in a 4-0 loss.
As for the Penguins goaltenders, Tristan Jarry is currently winless in his last three starts with two shutout losses, while being the record goaltender the last time Pittsburgh faced Ottawa on December 14.
Is Mike Sullivan riding the hot hand? Nedeljkovic is 2-2-0 in his last four starts against a wildcard opponent, and is he returning to a rotation?
Penguins and Oilers Quiz Answers
What was your score in our Match day quiz quiz? Here are the answers.
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Joel Blomqvist
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Gille Méloché
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Michael Dion
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Mario Lemieux
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Sydney Crosby
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Russ Anderson
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Ron Francois
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Mario Lemieux
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Craig Simpson
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Ty Conklin
Related: Key Penguin Stats of 2024
Related: Penguins: Top Opponent Stats in 2024
