NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The inevitable Sidney Crosby breakout occurred here on Broadway, with him putting on a show on a street where stars are known to make a lot of noise.
He put up four points Thursday and scored his first goal in four weeks as he rallied the Penguins past the Nashville Predators for a 5-4 overtime win at Bridgestone Arena.
The only goal Crosby didn’t have a hand in was Bryan Rust’s winner 1:07 into OT.
“I think it’s been coming. I’ve told you guys this for a few games now,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “It just felt like he was going to bust out. He’s been all around it.”
Crosby looked ready to explode out of his slump during a dominant third period in Tuesday’s victory against the Los Angeles Kings. He carried it over into Thursday’s win, helping the Penguins claw out of three deficits to get the game to overtime.
He set up their first goal, the first of two from Rust, with a patient play off the rush.
And after the Penguins fell behind 3-1, it was Crosby’s power-play goal that finally got them going. He steered a pinpoint shot-pass from Erik Karlsson past All-Star Predators goalie Juuse Saros. That ended the captain’s 10-game scoring drought.
“It feels good. I hit the post five seconds before that. So to see one go in is nice. Hopefully they’ll start to go in in bunches now,” Crosby said with a smile. “But it’s definitely a relief to see one go in, and just to find a way to get some momentum there. I thought we built off that, and it was big in getting back into the game.”
Seventy-four seconds later, Rickard Rakell tied it up with a fluky goal off a defender.
The Predators took the lead again midway through the third period, making the Penguins pay on another odd-man rush. It was Brady Skjei who beat Tristan Jarry.
Karlsson’s laser of a shot from the point tied it up, 4-4, with 8:23 left in regulation.
Crosby featured prominently in that goal, too. He retrieved a loose puck, fought off a defender down low and got it back out to the point so Karlsson could fire away.
Sullivan must have had that in mind when he said that he still thinks that Crosby is “the best player in the game at creating offense out of traffic or chaos down low.”
Crosby’s four-point explosion made it eight points in the Penguins’ past four games.
“I thought his line was terrific all night,” Sullivan said. “He’s in the middle of it all.”
4 Nations motivation?
Two weeks ago, the rosters for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament were announced, and Rakell and Rust found out that they had not been selected by their countries.
Rakell was disappointed that Sweden overlooked him, but he told the Post-Gazette that he would use the snub as motivation. Rust apparently had the same outlook.
Since the 4 Nations Face-Off rosters were submitted, Rust ranks seventh in the NHL with 13 points — seven of them goals. Rakell is right behind Rust with 11 points.
Rust, who had two goals and two assists against the Predators, chuckled when he was asked if the two linemates had taken that 4 Nations Face-Off news personally.
“No, but obviously it’s kind of nice to say, ‘Hey, take a look this way maybe?’ ” the winger said. “Obviously, Ricky’s been great. Sid’s been great. I have just been trying to do my part. I think us a line, we’re going on the ice and working off each other. And once we have one good shift, we can kind of feel it and everybody’s going.”
Indeed. The top-line trio of Crosby, Rust and Rakell has piled up the points during the last week. They have 10 of the Penguins’ 19 goals in four games since Dec. 12.
The bad with the good
The Penguins got the full Erik Karlsson experience here in Nashville. His early lapse on defense put the Penguins in that 1-0 hole and he took a penalty for holding the stick early in the third. But he made two brilliant offensive plays to help them win.
The defenseman set Crosby up for his slump-busting goal with that sweet pass from the point. Those two guys have only played together for 14 months, but Karlsson has such a good feel for that particular play, using deception to open up passing lanes.
Then on his tying goal, Karlsson whipped a wrist shot past Saros from 45 feet out.
“He’s an offensive stud. He makes unbelievable plays out there,” Rust said. “When he’s playing at that level and he’s moving his feet and he’s seeing the ice the way that he is, I think that just kind of makes the job of the forwards a little bit easier.”
Karlsson’s first goal in 17 games couldn’t have come at a better time for Pittsburgh.
“It looks like they got all the momentum, and Karlsson gets a massive goal,” Crosby said. “That’s a great shot through a lot of traffic, and against a really good goalie.”
Odd-man issues return
The Predators are a team that likes to run and gun, with their forwards often flying the zone on the hunt for odd-man rushes. They scored on two of them Thursday.
The Penguins have tightened up in this area during the last month, one of the main reasons why they have climbed back into the mix. But they were too many lapses against the Predators, whose first two shots of the game came on 2-on-1 rushes.
Sullivan noted that a common theme was defensemen getting caught in no-man’s land when pinching. That happened on Jonathan Marchessault’s goal that made it 2-1. Karlsson misread a carom off the boards and watched a pair of Predators blow past him. To his credit, he hustled back but couldn’t quite catch Marchessault.
“I thought we were indecisive in certain circumstances, whether we were going to pinch or not or our D were going to surf [to take away space] or not. I thought we were in between,” Sullivan said. “And that hesitation is not good for our game.”
Same thing happened with Kris Letang when Skjei made it 4-3 in the third period.
Ice chips
• Jarry returned to the crease after backing up Alex Nedeljkovic on Tuesday. He let up another early goal, although it was a bang-bang play on a 2-on-1. Jarry shook that off and made 22 saves. Sullivan felt he played better than the numbers suggested.
• Luke Evangelista’s power-play goal in the first period, which gave the Predators a 2-1 lead, snapped a streak of 15 consecutive penalties killed off by the Penguins.
• The Penguins had just nine shots on goal after two periods and finished with 20.
• Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who was reacquired in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, did not suit up against the Predators. The defenseman didn’t arrive in Nashville until after the morning skate but did participate in pregame warmups.
• In addition to Joseph, Kevin Hayes and Jesse Puljujarvi were scratched Thursday.
Coming up
The Penguins canceled their practice after the comeback win. They spent the night in Nashville and will head to New Jersey on Friday. They visit the Devils on Saturday.
First Published: December 20, 2024, 3:48 a.m.
Updated: December 20, 2024, 4:20 p.m.