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Big Night for the Captain as Penguins Down Blues
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- Big Night for the Captain as Penguins Down Blues
Big Night for the Captain as Penguins Down Blues
The Pittsburgh Penguins started like gangbusters Monday against the St. Louis Blues at PPG Paints Arena. That lasted almost a minute.
If not for some subsequent Sidney Crosby heroics, the Penguins might not have held on to extend their point streak to six games with a 6-3 win over the Blues.
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Crosby had assists on a second-period go-ahead goal and on the Penguins' fourth goal to become the ninth player in NHL history to reach 1,700 points . For good measure, Crosby scored on his own rebound after a breakaway to give the Penguins a two-goal cushion late.
Bryan Rust added two goals and an assist, Erik Karlsson three assists for the Penguins (7-2-1), who are 8-1-1 in their past 10 games against St. Louis (3-5-1).
Tristan Jarry (4-1-0) stopped 27 of 30 St. Louis shots.
Rust, with his second of the season, opened the scoring 39 seconds into the first. Off a cross-zone feed from Karlsson, Rust got off a shot from the right dot that careened over St. Louis goaltender Joel Hofer.
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Just 16 seconds later, at 0:55, Evgeni Malkin , with his 13th assist, set up Anthony Mantha 's goal (5) that went in off Hofer's left pad for a 2-0 Penguins lead. That also gave Malkin a seven-game point streak.
Former Penguin Nick Bjugstad (2) sliced the lead in half at 4:15 of the first with a shot from near the left post that he swept around Jarry.
The Penguins missed a chance to add to their lead when Tommy Novak , just out of the penalty box after a sloppy high-sticking call, got a breakaway and hit the crossbar.
St. Louis tied it at 15:43 of the first. Karlsson fumbled the puck away at the right point in the Blues end. That led to Jordan Kyrou 's (3) deflection goal from in tight.
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During a delayed penalty call, the Penguins regained the lead at 6:37 of the second. Following a passing sequence after the Penguins got set up in St. Louis' end, Parker Wotherspoon got his first goal of the season and with the Penguins. His far-side shot from the left circle went in off Hofer's glove to make it 3-2.
Crosby got the primary assist on Wotherspoon's goal, moving him to 1,699 points. Karlsson picked up his second assist of the night.
Jarry preserved the one-goal lead at 11:01 of the second when he made a point-blank glove save on Alexey Toropchenko .
Another first-minute goal, this one from Rust (3) in the slot at 42 seconds of the third, boosted the Penguins' lead to 4-2 — and put Crosby at 1,700 points with an assist. It also gave Crosby 498 multiple-point games, moving him past Mario Lemieux for the franchise record.
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The Blues' Mathieu Joseph (1) made it a one-goal game again when he scored t 4:35 of the third.
Crosby's goal (7), at 16:39, pushed it to 5-3, and Malkin (3) scored an empty-netter to make it 6-3.
The Penguins were without top-line winger Rickard Rakell , who underwent left hand surgery and is expected to miss several weeks.
The post Big Night for the Captain as Penguins Down Blues appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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