Tim Benz: Sidney Crosby wrote the perfect script, Kris Letang authored the perfect ending

It felt like a perfect night of Penguins hockey at PPG Paints Arena.

Sidney Crosby scored his 500th goal in front of a raucous crowd of 18,385.

A Sid-sational moment for a sensational player.

Congratulations, Sidney! ???? https://t.co/n8dFYWx1ar pic.twitter.com/WrPh5R4qDx

— NHL (@NHL) February 16, 2022

He did so against the hated Philadelphia Flyers as the Penguins blazed back from a 4-2 deficit to win 5-4 in overtime.

The crowd was so loud and so energized that, for a few hours, it was like the pandemic never happened. It was like the fans were never banned from the building. It was like the sellout streak never ended. It was as if the Penguins never stopped winning playoff series after the 2017 Stanley Cup.

When Crosby scored the milestone goal on a power play at 16:34 of the first period, it sounded like Mellon Arena again. Like when Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr danced through the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals. Or when Jordan Staal scored shorthanded against the Red Wings in 2009.

That tinny, piercing kind of loud that was so unique to that old building. The kind of loud that was almost oppressive if you didn’t add to it. Yell back, or be consumed by the din.

“That energy feeds you,” Crosby said. “It helps. It gives you a boost. You feel that as a player … I tried to have fun with it. Have it push me. It definitely did.”

Yet after the game, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan had one regret. It was about Crosby’s milestone goal. More specifically, it was about defenseman Kris Letang’s absence from it on the score sheet.

“It was so appropriate that Geno (Malkin) was the primary assist on the goal,” Sullivan said. “The only thing that we could’ve added to it was if Tanger found a way to touch (the puck) before Geno made the play.”

To Sullivan’s point, Malkin has assisted on 109 of Crosby’s 500 goals, more than any of Crosby’s other teammates. Letang is next on that list with 100. Yet Malkin got the lone assist on the goal.

Regardless, Letang’s fingerprints were all over the result of this game. He and Crosby combined to assist on Jake Guentzel’s third-period goal that pulled the Penguins to within 4-3.

Getting you caught up on all those goals now...

Here's the Jake Guentzel tally that made it 4-3.

Oh, and by the way, everyone gets 1/2 off Jake's Shakes tomorrow at @MShakeFactory! pic.twitter.com/3Expo86ULi

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 16, 2022

Chad Ruhwedel managed to tie the game just 18 seconds later. Which allowed the game to get to overtime. That’s where Letang worked his magic, taking the puck from Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux and beating goalie Carter Hart for the game winner.

Kris Letang made the play in the defensive zone, took the puck the other way, and... well, the rest was history.

What a game! pic.twitter.com/eeO4qvex1n

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 16, 2022

According to Penguins PR, Letang now has the most overtime points by a defenseman (30) in NHL history.

Crosby may have written the script by scoring No. 500 in front of the home fans against the team’s most notorious rival. Malkin got to co-author the memorable goal. However, it was Letang who penned the final chapter.

“It was just a quick turnaround. The defenseman was kind of taking away Sid. So I was trying to fool the goalie by looking at (Crosby) the entire time and I slipped the puck five-hole,” Letang described after the victory.

Even though it was Letang who put on the cape in overtime, he was insistent that Crosby be hailed as the hero on this night.

“You want that game, that memory to be a win. You don’t want to remember your 500th goal in a loss. Especially against a rival like this,” Letang said. “But forget about 500. He does that every game. That’s what he brings to the table. He leads by example. He goes out there, and he is always the guy that works the hardest.”

When Crosby scored the 500th goal, the entire bench emptied and poured on the ice as if it was an overtime game-ender.

Maybe the Penguins will have a few of those this postseason. That would be a pleasant change from the last three years. Still maybe not as pleasant as what we all got to witness Tuesday night.

Crosby was the star. But give Letang a huge assist.

Even if there isn’t one on the score sheet.