Sidney Crosby scores in 4th straight game in the Penguins’ 3-0 victory over the Predators
Sidney Crosby scores in 4th straight game in the Penguins’ 3-0 victory over the Predators
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored in his fourth straight game, Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves for his first shutout of the season and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Saturday night.
Crosby, the captain of Canada in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, added an assist for his 484th multi-point game. Only six players in NHL history have more multi-point games.
Nedeljkovic had his ninth NHL shutout. Bryan Rust scored an empty-net goal for his sixth 20-goal season, and Philip Tomasino scored against his former team. Pittsburgh acquired Tomasino in a trade with Nashville on Nov. 25.
Erik Karlsson, an alternate captain for Sweden, had two assists. He reached 30 assists for the 12th time in his career, most among active defensemen.
Juuse Saros, who sat out Friday night in Buffalo because of illness, stopped 33 shots for Nashville.
Forward Danton Heinen and defenseman Vincent Desharnais played for Pittsburgh after they were acquired in a trade with Vancouver on Friday night. Pittsburgh also acquired a first-round draft pick and prospect Melvin Fernstrom for Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor.
Takeaways
Predators: The Predators lost their fourth straight game. Nashville, which suffered a one-goal loss at Buffalo 24 hours earlier, won five straight before its recent four-game skid.
Penguins: The Penguins just went 3-4 on a seven-game, 15-day trip, their longest since 1997. Pittsburgh won consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 17-19. The Penguins are 5-8-3 in their last 16 games.
Key moment
At 10:43 of the second period, Rickard Rakell sent a cross-ice pass to Crosby, who finished along the side of the net from one knee to make it 2-0.
Key stat
Crosby has scored in four straight games for the first time since the 2021-2022 season. He has 17 goals this season.
Up next
Nashville hosts Ottawa on Monday night. Pittsburgh hosts New Jersey on Tuesday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
By DAN SCIFO
Associated Press
