Crosby joins elite company in Penguins’ win over Rangers
NEW YORK — Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist and Alex Nedeljkovic made 28 saves as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat New York 5-2, snapping the Rangers’ five-game winning streak. Bryan Rust also scored twice and Emil Bemstrom added a goal for Pittsburgh, which ended a fourgame losing streak in New York and improved to 14-9-3 in its last 26 games against Rangers. The Penguins lost both previous games this season at home against the first-place Rangers and were making their lone appearance at Madison Square Garden.
Kaapo Kakko and Jack Roslovic scored goals for the Rangers, and Igor Shesterkin finished with 16 saves.
Crosby’s big game ensures he will average at least a point per game for the 19th season, tying Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history.
”Any time you can be in that company, it’s pretty cool,” Crosby added in reference to matching Gretzky on such a significant milestone.
■ Red Wings 4, Lightning 2: At Tampa, Fla., David Perron scored the go-ahead goal with 2:40 remaining as Alex Lyon made 34 saves to end a personal 0-8-2 streak.
■ Blue Jackets 4, Avalanche 1: At Columbus, Ohio, Alex Nylander scored twice for Columbus, which won consecutive games for just the fourth time this season.
■ Jets 4, Kings 3: At Winnipeg, Manitoba, Cole Perfetti scored twice and Kyle Connor contributed a trio of assists as Winnipeg snapped a six-game losing skid.
■ Maple Leafs 6, Panthers 4: At Toronto, Auston Matthews scored his Nhl-leading 61st and 62nd goals of the season to go along with an assist.
■ Islanders 4, Flyers 3: At Philadelphia, Brock Nelson scored 1:25 into overtime to help New York get its third win in 11 games.
■ Blues 3, Oilers 2: At St. Louis, Brandon Saad scored 2:09 into overtime to help St. Louis improve to 8-2-1 in its last 11 games.
■ Kraken 4, Sharks 3: At San Jose, Calif.,
Shane Wright scored the go-ahead goal for Seattle, which is 3-2-0 over its last five games.