Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust power Penguins to overtime win in Nashville

Matt Vensel, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dec 19, 2024

Published in Hockey

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Sidney Crosby had another standout performance here on Broadway, putting up four points and scoring his first goal in four weeks.

Bryan Rust stole the spotlight from him in overtime by scoring the winning goal Thursday as the Penguins beat the Nashville Predators, 5-4, at Bridgestone Arena.

The Penguins rallied back from three deficits en route to their second straight win.

The Penguins had to dig out of another early deficit. At the start of the game, they had about as much energy as Broadway at 8 a.m. and their execution was not good enough either. The visitors gave up the first goal for the fifth consecutive game and did not get their first shot on goal until there was 6:47 left in the opening period.

Bryan Rust briefly pulled the Penguins even, 1-1, when he banged one in from the back post. The Predators retook the lead with a power-play goal 96 seconds later.

In the second period, the Predators padded their lead when Steven Stamkos scored on a delayed penalty. But the Penguins tied it suddenly with a pair of quick goals.

Crosby got the first of them, deflecting a shot-pass from Erik Karlsson past star Predators goalie Juuse Saros. That ended the captain’s 10-game scoring drought. Then 74 seconds later, Rickard Rakell made it 3-3 with a fluky goal off a defender.

The Predators took the lead again midway through the third period, making the Penguins pay on another odd-man rush. It was Brady Skjei who beat Tristan Jarry.

Karlsson’s laser of a shot from the point tied it up, 4-4, with 8:23 left in regulation.

Ice chips

— Jarry returned to the crease after backing up Alex Nedeljkovic on Tuesday. He let up another early goal, but that one was largely on Karlsson. He misread a carom of the boards, leading to a 2-on-1 rush that Jonathan Marchessault finished off. Jarry shook that off and made 22 saves, playing a bit better than the numbers suggest.

— Luke Evangelista’s power-play goal in the first period, which gave the Predators a 2-1 lead, snapped a streak of 15 consecutive penalties killed off by the Penguins.

— The top-line trio of Crosby, Rust and Rakell has piled up the points during the last week. They have 10 of the team’s 19 goals in the last four games since Dec. 12.

— The Penguins had just nine shots on goal after two periods and finished with 20.

— Head athletic trainer Kevin Elliott attended to Crosby on the bench in the third period. Elliott appeared to be checking out the captain’s neck or shoulder.

— Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who was reacquired in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, did not suit up against the Predators. The defenseman didn’t arrive in Nashville until after the morning skate but did participate in pregame warmups.

— In addition to Joseph, Kevin Hayes and Jesse Puljujarvi were scratched Thursday.

— For Cody Glass and Philip Tomasino, this was their first time facing their former team, the Predators. The Penguins acquired the two in separate trades this year.

Coming up

The Penguins are scheduled to practice in the Nashville area on Friday and travel to New Jersey later in the day. They will visit the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.