Sidney Crosby officially seized sole possession of sixth place on the NHL’s career scoring list, ripping home two goals as the Pittsburgh Penguins finally snapped their four-game skid with a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
Crosby’s 1,772nd Point: A Legend Marches On
The 39-year-old phenom broke his tie with Kings legend Marcel Dionne, hitting his incredible 1,772nd career point. How’d he do it? Evgeni Malkin fired a one-timer in the second period, and it deflected right in off Crosby. Talk about being in the right place! Then, to cap it off, Crosby added a late empty-net goal, literally diving face-first onto the ice to tip it home. You can’t make this stuff up. What a way to seal a milestone and keep that all-time scoring list ticking up.
Pens Shaken Up and Scoring
Pittsburgh desperately needed this W, opening their three-game California trip with only their third win in 11 games. Before the game, the Penguins shuffled the deck, moving both Crosby and the 40-year-old Malkin onto their top line, clearly trying to spark a struggling lineup. And did it ever pay off! Tommy Novak exploded with two goals in the first six minutes. He pounced on a rebound less than two minutes in, then carried the puck into the zone and followed Ben Kindel to cash in another rebound just 3 1/2 minutes later, marking his seventh career multigoal game. Egor Chinakhov also lit the lamp on a power play late in the first, putting the Pens up 3-1. Sergei Murashov stood tall, making 26 saves for the Penguins.
Kings Can’t Catch a Break
The Kings, on the other hand, have dropped two of their last three games during this seven-game homestand. Corey Perry scored midway through the first period, swatting a high shot from Mikey Anderson that ricocheted off the end boards right down to the crease. That was Perry’s second goal of his 22nd NHL season. Alex Laferriere got one back for LA on a power play early in the second. There was a moment late in the second when Artemi Panarin looked like he’d scored a tying rebound goal for the Kings, but after a video review, it was disallowed because their zone entry was *barely* offside. Ouch, that one stings. Moments later, Erik Karlsson’s backhand pass set up Malkin’s shot off Crosby for the record-breaking point. Next up for the Penguins, they head to Anaheim on Sunday. The Kings will host Nashville on Tuesday.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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