Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust scored two goals apiece to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-2 victory over the host New York Rangers on Monday night.
Crosby helped the Penguins (33-30-11, 77 points) improve to 3-0-2 in their past five games by setting up Rust’s first tally on the game’s opening shift before scoring midway through the first.
Crosby reached 80 points for the 13th time in his 19-year career and ended the night three shy of 1,000 career assists. He finished off his seventh three-point game of the season by scoring into an empty-net with 45 seconds left.
Rust notched his fourth two-goal game of the season by scoring into an empty net with 2:11 remaining.
Emil Bemstrom also scored as the Penguins improved to 5-6-3 in their past 12.
Pittsburgh goalie Alex Nedeljkovic made 28 saves in his fifth straight start. He continued to start in place of Tristan Jarry, whom the Penguins said was starting and then said he had an illness although he participated in pregame warmups.
The Rangers (50-21-4, 104 points) saw a five-game winning streak stopped but remained three points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes atop the Metropolitan Division. New York had a goal disallowed by Mika Zibanejad in the second period because of a goaltender interference call against Chris Kreider during a power play.
Kaapo Kakko and Jack Roslovic scored for the Rangers, who were coming off an 8-5 win over the host Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. Nedeljkovic made a sprawling glove save on Kakko’s shot from below the right circle, but the Rangers were awarded the goal when replay determined the glove was across the goal line with 9:18 left in the game.
Roslovic made it a one-goal game with 3:07 remaining when he fired a loose puck into the vacated right side of the net after Zibanejad’s shot missed the net and caromed off the end boards.
New York goalie Igor Shesterkin made 15 saves.
Rust opened the scoring 18 seconds into the game by sliding a backhander into the net after Crosby’s shot was not corralled by Shesterkin following a defensive zone turnover by New York defenseman Jacob Trouba.
Crosby scored his first goal of the night with 9:21 left in the opening period by tipping in a shot by Pierre-Olivier Joseph. Bemstrom made it 3-0 by finishing off a breakaway midway through the third.
–Field Level Media
