Even if he is the 17th leading scorer in NHL history, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby is sure of one axiom.

Offense can’t come at the expense of defense.

And throughout a mostly unremarkable November for the Penguins, their overall defensive game has largely struggled.

“We’ve got to be better there and keep the puck out of our net,” Crosby said Wednesday. “If we do that, we trust that we’ll get chances offensively.”

On Thursday, the Penguins’ defense was hardly airtight. In fact, an over-inflated dirigible could have navigated through some of the gaps in their fortifications.

But their defense was stout enough that it led to a steady, though hardly perfect, 6-4 victory against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Crosby emerged out of a slight slump by collecting a season-best four points (two goals, two assists) and led his team to only its third win this month (3-3-2). Individually, Crosby’s four points Thursday represented a considerable improvement over the mere three points (one goal, two assists) he had in his previous four games.

In another area that offered encouragement to the Penguins, two of Crosby’s points came with a power-play unit that has mostly been in hibernation this season.

Overall, the Penguins were 2 for 6 on the power play (33.3%) Thursday, though they allowed one short-handed score. Entering the contest, the Penguins were 25th in the 32-team NHL with a conversion rate of 18.2%.

Crosby found his eighth goal of the season 8:15 into regulation. After Penguins forward Rickard Rakell — promoted to the top line — forced Wild forward Connor Dewar into a neutral zone turnover, Penguins forward Jake Guentzel leaned down in front of the visiting bench to poke check the puck away from Wild forward Mason Shaw. Crosby claimed the puck near the center red line and gained the offensive blue line on the left wing. Using Wild defenseman Jake Middleton as a screen, Crosby snapped a far-side wrister past the glove of former Penguins goaltending prospect Filip Gustavsson. Guentzel and Rakell had assists.

Penguins forward Ryan Poehling, a native of Lakeville, Minn., made it a 2-0 contest at 17:03 of the first period. Chasing down a loose puck in his own zone, Penguins forward Josh Archibald raced up the right wing of the neutral zone, gained the offensive zone and fed a forehand pass to linemate Teddy Blueger in the right circle. Going backhand to forehand, Blueger quickly moved the puck along to the left circle for Poehling, who buried a forehand shot past Gustavsson’s blocker on the near side for his second goal. Blueger and Archibald claimed assists.

The Wild tied the game with a hiccup-quick two-goal outburst early in the second period.

First, at the 4:31 mark, forward Brandon Duhaime scored his third goal. Goalie Tristan Jarry and defenseman Marcus Pettersson appeared to have a miscommunication on a puck dumped in behind their net and as a result, Jarry played it to the right point, where it was intercepted by Wild forward Marcus Foligno. From there, Foligno banked a forehand pass off the near boards to Duhaime in the right circle. Lining up Pettersson as a screen, Duhaime fired a fluttering wrister over Jarry’s glove. Foligno had the only assist.

Only 12 seconds later, forward Joel Eriksson Ek pulled the Wild even with his fifth goal. Under pressure from a dual forecheck by Eriksson Ek and Duhaime, Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin tried to clear the puck up from his own right wing wall, but Eriksson Ek blocked the puck. Claiming possession on the end boards, Eriksson Ek attacked the cage from the right of the net and jammed a forehand shot that was denied by Jarry’s left leg. The rebound hopped up and clunked off the crossbar then rolled down Jarry’s back and into the cage for Eriksson Ek’s fifth goal. Penguins defenseman Jan Rutta did not help matters for his team as he crashed into Jarry on the sequence. There were no assists.

A would-be goal by Blueger at 15:33 of the second period was waved off immediately by referee Chris Lee as it was determined Archibald interfered with Gustavsson.

Defenseman Kris Letang’s first goal of the season — during a five-on-three power-play sequence — restored a lead for the Penguins, 3-2, late in the second period at the 18:20 mark. Controlling play low in the right corner of the offensive zone, Crosby waited for a passing lane to open up then slid the puck above the left circle, where Letang swiped a half-speed one-timer past Gustavsson’s blocker on the near side. Crosby and forward Evgeni Malkin netted assists.

Another power-play score during a five-on-four sequence by Crosby put the Penguins up by two 5:50 into the third period. After gaining the offensive zone, Crosby offloaded the puck to Guentzel, who slinked his way up to the left wing boards near the corner. From there, Guentzel threaded a slick pass past the stick of positionally sound Wild defenseman Jon Merrill to the other side of the crease, where Crosby tapped a forehand shot that clunked through Gustavsson’s five hole. Guentzel and Jarry had assists.

A short-handed goal by Eriksson Ek made it a one-goal contest at 11:23 of the final frame. Pushing play up from behind his own net, Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin dished an outlet pass to former Penguins forward Frederick Gaudreau at the defensive blue line. Gaining the offensive blue line, Gaudreau crisscrossed with Eriksson Ek at center point and left a drop pass. Eriksson Ek picked it up, veered to the right circle, flipped the puck from his backhand to his forehand and sizzled a wrister under Jarry’s left leg on the near side. Gaudreau and Brodin registered assists.

Penguins forward Brock McGinn snapped a one-game goalless streak with his fifth goal of the season and fourth in five games at the 14:33 mark. On a choppy sequence, Wild forward Mats Zuccarello pushed a pass from the left wing of the offensive zone to the offensive blue line. The puck hit off of Eriksson Ek’s stick and then was chopped back to the neutral zone by Penguins forward Jeff Carter to linemate Danton Heinen. Settling the puck, Heinen dished it to McGinn surging up ice. Fending off Zuccarello, McGinn gained the offensive zone and fired a wrister from the high slot that Gustavsson whiffed on with his glove. Heinen and Carter claimed assists.

The Penguins’ final goal came 1:58 later against an empty net by Guentzel, his ninth of the season. Assists went to Crosby and Pettersson.

Scoring was capped late in regulation at 19:52 when Wild defenseman Matthew Dumba found his second goal. Controlling the puck deep on the right wing of the offensive zone, Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov snapped a seam pass to the inside of the left circle. Dumba escaped Heinen’s defensive coverage, leaned down and swiped a one-timer past Jarry’s right skate on the near side. Kaprizov and Zuccarello had assists.

Jarry made 19 saves on 23 shots as he broke a personal five-game losing streak and his record improved to 5-3-2.

“Two points on the road is a good two points,” Guentzel said to media in St. Paul. “There’s obviously things to clean up. But a tough team to play tonight, so it’s good to get two points. “

Notes:

• Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph returned to the lineup after missing three games due to an undisclosed injury.

• Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel were healthy scratches. Kapanen, who carries a salary cap hit of $3.2 million, has been a healthy scratch for four of the past five games.

• McGinn is in a 12-way tie for the league lead in game-winning goals with three.

• Guentzel is tied with Buffalo Sabres forward Victor Olofsson for the league lead in empty net goals with three.

• Jarry moved into a tie with Ducks goaltender — and Whitehall native — John Gibson for first place in the NHL’s goaltender scoring race with two assists.

• Guentzel (357 points) surpassed Alexei Kovalev (354) for 18th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• The Wild remain one of three active franchises the Penguins have never recorded a shutout against. The Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken are the others.

• Former Penguins defenseman Alex Goligoski was a healthy scratch.

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