Crosby has nose for goal
Four-point night for Sid, sore beak and all
BUFFALO— A swollen nose couldn’t stop Sidney Crosby from enjoying a four-point night. And neither could Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres.
“Not really getting much air through there right now,” Crosby said Friday, referring to the cut he wore on the left side of his nose after being struck by a puck a night earlier on Long Island. “But other than that, it’s pretty good.” So’s he. In a season in which lingering concussion questions have hung over the Pittsburgh star, Sid the Kid provided a potent response in showing that he’s in fact back by scoring a goal and adding three assists in the Penguins’ 5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
It was Crosby’s third four-point night in 18 games this season, and it came on the heels of a two-game points drought in which the Pen- guins dropped consecutive games to the New York Islanders. “He’s the greatest thing I’ve ever seen,” Penguins goalie Brent Johnson said. “Coming back the way he has is just fantastic. He’s priceless.” Crosby not only helped the Penguins snap a mini-slump after losing three of the past four, but also put the brakes on Buffalo’s late-season surge. The Sabres (38-30-10) had a fivegame winning streak snapped, and dropped into ninth place, behind Washington in the Eastern Conference standings. Both teams have four games left and 86 points, but the Caps hold the tiebreaker edge. The Sabres’ loss also allowed the idle Boston Bruins to clinch a playoff berth. “We won’t beat this thing to death,” Sabres defenceman Jordan Leopold said. “There’s a simple for- mula, we just move forward. We know we can play better.” Thomas Vanek, Tyler Ennis and Jordan Leopold scored for the Sabres, who dropped to 14-3-4 in their past 21, and lost for the first time in regulation in 10 games (7-1-2). The Sabres squandered a golden opportunity to at least earn a point in the final 2:21, when Evgeni Malkin was penalized for delay of game after his clearing attempt sailed into the stands. Vanek had two chances in the final 25 seconds, only to be turned away before Jordan Staal sealed the win by scoring into an empty net. “You got to put it behind you,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said, already looking ahead to the game at Toronto on Saturday. Steve Sullivan had a goal and two assists, and Pascal Dupuis set up two to extend his points streak to an NHL season-best 13 games, in which he has nine goals and eight assists. Malkin added a goal and assist in helping Pittsburgh (48-24-6) move four points ahead of fifthplace Philadelphia in the East.