Crosby milestone buoys Penguins
ST. LOUIS — Sidney Crosby scored another milestone goal Sunday. The puck went right to his dad.
Crosby scored twice, including his 400th career goal, and the Pittsburgh Penguins pulled away from the St. Louis Blues for a 4-1 victory.
Bryan Rust snapped a tie with a third-period tally, and Riley Sheahan also scored for the Penguins, who have won 12 of their past 17. Matt Murray made 33 saves.
Crosby had not scored in his previous 10 games dating to Jan. 14. The captain stopped the drought in the second period in front of his father, Troy, who was on the two-game fathers’ trip that began Friday in Dallas.
“It’s tough when you’re waiting that long to get it, but it’s definitely worth the wait to have my dad here,” Crosby said. “So many early mornings and sacrifices so I could play hockey. It’s special to have him here.”
Troy Crosby got the puck after the game along with a big hug.
“It’s just so nice to be here,” Troy Crosby said. “To be able to share it with him, there are just no words to describe it.”
Kyle Brodziak scored for
St. Louis, which had won two in a row. Jake Allen had 19 stops.
Crosby jammed a shot under Allen’s pad from the side of the net at 3:31, tying it at 1 with his 18th of the season. He becomes the 95th player in NHL history to reach the 400-goal mark.
“I still don’t know how it trickled in; it seemed like it took forever,” Crosby said. “You’re trying to put it in that area, short side. Somehow it kind of found its way in.”
Allen couldn’t believe Crosby found such a small opening.
“That’s why he’s the best player in the world,” Allen said. “I would never play that any differently. He’s one hell of a smart player.”
The goal came 21 seconds after Brodziak converted from close range off a pass from Chris Thorburn.
At Anaheim, Calif., Logan Couture had a goal and an assist and then scored in the shootout for San Jose, which tied it on Timo Meier’s goal with 53.7 seconds left in regulation.
At Newark, N.J., defenseman Torey Krug scored twice for Boston, which recorded at least one point in its 13th straight road game and dealt New Jersey its fourth straight loss.
Sharks 3, Ducks 2, SO — Bruins 5, Devils 3 — Red Wings 5, Capitals 4,OT—
At Washington, Tomas Tatar scored his second goal of the game 2:47 into overtime after Detroit had blown a three-goal as the Red Wings halted a threegame skid.
At Winnipeg, Manitoba, Jimmy Vesey returned after a three-game injury absence to score the go-ahead goal with 3:53 left to back Henrik Lundqvist, who had 37 saves.
At New York, Matthew Tkachuk scored twice in the third period to back winner Mike Smith, who had 23 saves before leaving with an injury with two seconds left.
At Dallas, Reid Boucher scored his first two goals of the season, and Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves in his second career shutout.
At Buffalo, N.Y., Tyson Jost and Gabriel Bourque scored rebound goals in the third period for Colorado, which never trailed.
Rangers 3, Jets 1 — Flames 3, Islanders 2— Canucks 6, Stars 0 — Avalanche 5, Sabres 4—