Sidney Crosby leads Penguins past Predators in OT, snaps losing streak

Rickard Rakell had to make one of two choices.

Shoot or pass.

He chose wisely.

Especially since the recipient of his pass was Sidney Crosby.

An overtime score by Crosby off a hiccup-quick feed by Rakell during a furious three-on-three sequence provided the Penguins with a badly needed 3-2 home win against the Nashville Predators at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.

The victory snapped a season-worst four-game losing streak and, perhaps more importantly, salved the squad’s sagging spirits.

“That was a good morale booster for us,” Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith said. “Especially to do it in overtime at home, Sid getting the winner. It’s a good feeling.”

Rakell and Crosby combined in some fashion on all three of the Penguins’ goals. Oddly, the pair wasn’t necessarily put together on a line during the contest. They just happened to be on the ice during some disjointed line changes.

“Obviously, they connected on a couple of important goals tonight,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “(Rakell) made two great plays to Sid when Sid finished on them. Just great vision, great awareness knowing where he is and getting him the puck. That potentially could be an option for us moving forward.”

The dynamic duo combined on the first goal of the contest 4:58 into regulation. Corralling a dump-in on his own end boards, Predators goaltender David Rittich chipped the puck to the right half wall for Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki who lost possession thanks to a pinch by Penguins defenseman Kris Letang. Rakell claimed the puck low in the right circle and slipped a pass to Crosby rushing in from the left wing. Leaning down, Crosby snapped a one-timer past Rittich’s blocker on the near side for his 27th goal of the season. Rakell and Letang had assists.

The game was tied 1-1 at 18:49 of the first period. After Penguins forward Jason Zucker lost the puck on the right wing at the offensive blue line, Predators forward Mikael Granlund claimed possession. From the slot of his own zone, Granlund snapped off a stretch pass to linemate Matt Duchene at the Penguins’ blue line. As Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson stumbled to the ice, Duchene surged past him, created his own breakaway and deked DeSmith to his knees, roofing a wrister over his blocker for his 38th goal. Granlund netted the only assist.

Little happened during the second period. At least not until the period had ended.

Just as the second intermission began, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin and Borowiecki were entangled in a confrontation. Malkin slashed Borowiecki’s stick out of his hands then cross checked him in the mouth, apparently causing Borowiecki to lose a handful of teeth.

Malkin was given a double minor penalty for high sticking while Borowiecki, who did not return to the game, was issued a slashing minor.

There was no word on any potential supplemental discipline from the NHL for Malkin’s actions or Borowiecki’s status following the game.

The Predators took their only lead 4:31 into the third period. Off a two-on-one rush, Predators forward Colton Sissons whipped a wrister on net from the Penguins’ right circle. After DeSmith booted out a rebound, Sissons corralled the puck on right wing along the goal line and flicked a backhander back at the cage that hit off the far post and bounced to the front of the crease. Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson claimed the puck and lifted a weak clearing attempt that was intercepted above the hashmarks by Predators forward Nick Cousins. Using Matheson as a screen, Cousins gripped and ripped a wrister past DeSmith’s blocker for his eighth goal. There were no assists.

Zucker’s seventh goal this season tied the game 2-2 at 8:53 of the third. Pushing play into the offensive zone, Rakell crossed over with Crosby near center point and left a drop pass. From above the right circle, Crosby centered a forehand pass for Zucker. Shielding the puck from Predators forward Eeli Tolvanen, Zucker lifted a pedestrian backhander that squeaked between Rittich’s glove and his left ribs. Crosby and Rakell registered assists.

Sidelined for parts of the past four months due to a core muscle injury, Zucker found the net for the first time since Jan. 17.

“The fact that he responded the way he went out and scored a huge goal for us at a key time I think was a huge boost for our bench,” Sullivan said. “You could see his reaction of his teammates. That’s a window into what they think about him.”

In overtime, Rakell’s quick thinking capped off a delirious sequence that led to victory.

With the benefit of open ice provided by three-on-three play, Matheson made a mad dash from the neutral zone to the Predators’ net, only to lose the puck before getting a shot off. Rittich shoveled the puck away with his stick and allowed Granlund to take control.

Before Granlund could even consider his options, Crosby surged in and stole the puck. Deking around Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm in the crease, Crosby forced a pass to Matheson, positioned to the right of the crease. Ekholm’s stick broke up that pass attempt, causing the puck to slide to the hashmarks.

From there, Rakell corralled it, faked a slapper, pulled his stick down and coolly slid the puck to the left of the crease for Crosby who tapped in his second goal of the game (and 28th of the season) at the 4:58 mark.

“I was definitely thinking about (shooting at) first,” Rakell admitted. “But it felt like they (the Predators) were all coming out at me. Sid (was) on the back door. So I just tried to get it to him. It was nice to see it go in. Otherwise, I would regret that I didn’t shoot it.”

There was little to regret with DeSmith who offered one of his more resolute performances of the season as he made 33 saves on 35 shots and his record improved to 8-4-4.

“He was awesome,” Crosby said of DeSmith. “He made some huge saves. Ones that — looked like from the bench, a couple of them — that were going to be almost for sure goals. And he found a way to get a pad on it or make a save and keep us in the game.”

And restore some faith in a team that has struggled as of late.

“This is a proud group and when you go through a stretch where you lose a few games, everybody feels it,” Sullivan said. “It’s an important win for us.”

Notes:

• The Penguins avoided their first losing streak of five or more games since a six-game losing streak they had in the 2019-20 season (Feb. 20 through 29) a few weeks before the pandemic halted play in the NHL (and just about all of professional sports).

• Matheson recorded a fighting major at 7:54 of the second period when he tussled with rough-and-tumble Predators forward Tanner Jeannot. That bout happened a few moments after Jeannot dropped Letang with a heavy check in the Penguins’ zone.

• Jeannot leads the NHL with 13 fighting majors this season. In contrast, the Penguins have a total of 12 fighting majors this season.

• That was only the second fighting major in Matheson’s career. As a member of the Florida Panthers, he fought Boston Bruins forward David Backes on March 16, 2018.

• Crosby’s overtime goal was his 1,400th career point. He also appeared in his 1,100th career game.

• Crosby (1,400) surpassed Hockey Hall of Fame forward Jari Kurri (1,398) for 22nd place on the NHL’s career scoring list.

• DeSmith (40 wins) surpassed Gary Inness (39) for 15th place on the franchise’s career goaltending wins list.

• Rakell now has 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 20 career games against the Predators.

• The Penguins’ last regular season overtime win against the Predators came in a 2-1 road win on Oct. 24, 2015. Forward Phil Kessel scored the winning goal.

• The Predators’ last road game against the Penguins came in a 6-4 loss on Dec. 28, 2019. Penguins forward Bryan Rust had two goals and two assists in that contest.