Crosby ignites rally for victory
His most conspicuous contribution was a powerplay goal at 13:41, after a sluggish start by the Penguins had helped to stake Florida to a 2-0 lead.
“We started off behind the eight-ball there,” Crosby said. More like under it. The Penguins won after spotting an opponent a twogoal advantage for the second time in their past three games. Impressive as that kind of resilience is, routinely giving the other guys a multiple-goal edge is not a formula for consistent success.
“We definitely want to play a little better to start the games,” said forward Eric Fehr, who scored the winner at 9:42 of the third by steering a Tom Kuhnhackl feed between the legs of Florida goalie James Reimer.
Reducing the number of penalties they take would be a start. The Panthers got the only three power plays awarded in the opening period, and Reilly Smith scored on the last of those to give Florida a 1-0 lead.
“Just staying out of the box will go a long way in helping our game,” Crosby said.
The Penguins started to find their game in the second period; Crosby began getting to his on his first shift, in part by dropping Panthers defenseman Jason Demers with a hit.
“When you miss that much time, you just try to get involved early,” he said. “Whether it’s taking a hit or giving a hit.”
That check — and everything else that transpired during the first 20 minutes — did nothing to inspire his teammates, but the goal he scored did.
Crosby was alone in the slot and took a feed from Evgeni Malkin before burying the puck behind Reimer.
“I had some time there,” Crosby said. “You want to make sure you put that one in when you have that much time.”
Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who finished with 20 saves, said “Sid’s goal was huge” in sparking the Penguins’ surge in the second half of the game.
They nearly pulled even early in the third, when Phil Kessel — who Sullivan moved from a line with Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino to one with Malkin and Chris Kunitz — put a shot off the crossbar.
About two minutes later, Hagelin made it 2-2, beating Reimer from inside the right circle during a 2-on-1 break with Bryan Rust. By then, the Penguins were asserting themselves all over the ice, and the real question was which player, not which team, would score the tie-breaker. “I liked what I saw in the third period,” Sullivan said.
Understandably so. Sullivan also had to be pleased with what Crosby showed him throughout the evening, too. He didn’t dominate the game, but left a lasting impression on it.
“We’re grateful that we got him back in our lineup,” Sullivan said. “We’re certainly a better team with him.”