Crosby loses 2 teeth, but Penguins smiling
After losing two front teeth, Sidney Crosby wasn’t available to discuss the highlight-reel, one-handed goal he scored in helping the Pittsburgh Penguins clinch their 11th consecutive playoff berth.
Crosby’s teammates had plenty to say about it following the defending Stanley Cup champions’ 3-1 win at Buffalo on Tuesday night.
Starting from inside his blue line, Crosby picked up a head of steam through the neutral zone and weaved past all four Buffalo defenders before lifting a one-handed backhander into the top right corner to open the scoring with nine seconds left in the first period.
“The play that everyone screws around doing in practice, and he does it in games,” Nick Bonino said.
“The sea parted for him there, only 15 seconds left, and he turned it on,” Bonino added. “I mean, there’s nothing I can really say that nobody has. He does some pretty amazing things.”
Even Buffalo goalie Robin Lehner was left impressed.
“I think most goalies in the league are going to read he’s going to pull that back to his forehand,” said Lehner, who stopped 31 shots. “Probably one or maybe two guys in the league who can score a goal like that.”
Crosby was not in a position to speak after being highsticked in the face by Evander Kane with 1:25 remaining while attempting to score into an empty net. Crosby went down in the corner clutching his face before eventually getting up and leaving the ice.
Head coach Mike Sullivan would say only that Crosby lost a couple of teeth. Kane was issued a double-minor for highsticking.
Bonino scored the go-ahead goal on a broken play with 5:29 remaining and Conor Sheary scored 1:58 later. Matt Murray stopped 29 shots and the Penguins (46-17-9) improved to 8-1-1 in their past 10.
With 101 points, Pittsburgh passed Columbus and moved into second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Blues 4, Avalanche 2: Magnus Paajarvi and Jaden Schwartz scored in the third period for visiting St. Louis, which played most of the game without center Paul Stastny after he was hit on the foot by a shot in the first period.
Canucks 5, Blackhawks 4: Daniel Sedin scored a power-play goal 2:12 into overtime and visiting Vancouver ended a six-game skid. With his twin brother Henrik Sedin screening goalie Scott Darling, Daniel Sedin connected on a high, long shot. The score withstood a video review for goaltender interference and snapped Chicago’s winning streak at five games.
Capitals 4, Flames 2: Alex Ovechkin had a goal and two assists, and T.J. Oshie scored his 30th of the season as Washington won at home.
Devils 3, Rangers 2: Joseph Blandisi scored on an odd-man rush with 54.6 seconds left in overtime for host New Jersey.
Senators 3, Bruins 2: Kyle Turris scored twice and Craig Anderson made 33 saves as visiting Ottawa ended a four-game losing streak.
Red Wings 2, Canadiens 1: Anthony Mantha scored at 4:10 of overtime for visiting Detroit.
Coyotes 5, Lightning 3: Oliver Ekman-Larsson had a goal and an assist during a three-goal third period as visiting Arizona, with the NHL’s second-worst record, damaged Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes.
Hurricanes 4, Panthers 3: Jeff Skinner scored two goals, including the game-winner with 3:55 left, to lead visiting Carolina.
Jets 3, Flyers 2: Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele each had a goal and two assists as host Winnipeg won its third straight game.