Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists Saturday to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins past the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-2.
It was Crosby’s second three-point night in as many games.
Jake Guentzel and Jeff Carter each had a goal and assist, and Danton Heinen, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell also scored for the Penguins.
Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry made 34 saves.
Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point scored for the Lightning. Tampa Bay goaltender Brian Elliott stopped 39 shots.
The veteran captains for the two teams — who have combined to win four of the past seven Stanley Cups — got the goals in the first.
During a Tampa Bay power play, Victor Hedman, from the center point, passed over to Stamkos. From the top of the left circle, Stamkos blasted a one-timer far side to make it 1-0 at 4:10.
Crosby tied it at 17:00. Brian Dumoulin’s outlet pass to Guentzel set up a two-on-one break with Crosby against Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak. As Guentzel reached the right circle, he got the puck past a sprawling Cernak over to Crosby near the far circle. Crosby swooped in on Elliott, went forehand to backhand and deposited the puck past the sprawling goalie’s glove to tie it.
Pittsburgh was on a power play at 4:11 of the second when Heinen made it 2-0. From near the bottom of the right circle, he chipped the puck high and under the crossbar off a feed from Jason Zucker.
Guentzel increased it to 3-1 at 2:28 of the third when he tipped in a shot from the point by Kris Letang.
The Penguins made it 4-1 just 1:22 later when Carter scored far side from the inner edge of the right circle.
Rust redirected a shot by Crosby for a power-play goal at 13:31 of the third to make it five Pittsburgh unanswered goals and a 5-1 lead.
At 14:03 of the third, Point scored from the lower part of the left circle off the rush to cut it to 5-2.
Tampa Bay pulled Elliott early, and Rakell scored an empty-netter with 4:05 left.
–Field Level Media
