The Associated Press’s Jim Diamond
Tennessee’s Nashville. The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Nashville Predators 5-4 on Thursday night, with Sidney Crosby recording a season-high four points and Bryan Rust scoring his second goal of the game 1:07 into overtime.
Crosby finished with a goal and three assists, while Rust also contributed two assists. The Penguins, who have won three of four games, had goals and assists from Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson. 22 saves were made by Tristan Jarry.
The captain of Pittsburgh, Crosby, ended a 10-game goalless streak.
Nashville’s goals came from Brady Skjei, Luke Evangelista, Jonathan Marchessault, and Steven Stamkos. Filip Forsberg had two assists and Juuse Saros stopped 15 shots.
Rust scored a wrist shot past Saros in overtime after receiving a pass from Evgeni Malkin in the slot. Rust ended the game after the Penguins had been behind much of the evening.
Pittsburgh is 2-0-1 and has advanced to overtime in three straight games.
This season, the Predators have a 1-7 record in overtime games.
Takeaways
Penguins: In the first two periods, the Penguins only had nine shots on Saros, but they were effective with them, scoring three goals.
Predators: Nashville suffered a defeat after defeating the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Since winning three games in a row from October 22–26, the Predators have not won in a row.
Key moment
Nearly halfway through the second period, the Penguins were behind 3-1 when Crosby and Rakell each scored a goal at 1:14 to equalize the game.
On Thursday, December 19, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee, defenseman Erik Karlsson, center for the Pittsburgh Penguins, celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators. In overtime, the Penguins prevailed 5–4. (George Walker IV/AP Photo)AP
Key stat
The Penguins are 10-2-2 against Nashville and have collected at least one point in 12 of their last 14 games.
Up next
On Saturday, the Predators host the Los Angeles Kings, while the Penguins go to the New Jersey Devils.
https://apnews.com/hub/nhl is the AP NHL.
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