PITTSBURGH (AP) Sidney Crosby crystallized the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ hot run against the Philadelphia Flyers with the kind of goal that he and few others on the planet can create.The Pittsburgh captain then sealed his team’s first season sweep of its cross-state rival in 11 years with a pass that wasn’t nearly as flashy but just as effective.Bryan Rust put his stick down in front of the Philadelphia net just in time to redirect Crosby’s feed past Petr Mrazek 2:25 into overtime to give the Penguins a 5-4 victory on Sunday.Pittsburgh pulled within three points of first-place Washington in the crowded Metropolitan Division and two points clear of Philadelphia after improving to 16-1-1 in its past 18 games at PPG Paints Arena.”We did some good things
Martin Hanzal Jersey Womens , especially the second and third, created a lot and found a way to win,” Crosby said of the Penguins, who have won a club-record 11 overtime games at home.The Flyers tied it on Sean Couturier’s goal with 43 seconds left in regulation, but the Penguins controlled the extra period. Rust ended it when his 13th goal of the season gave the Penguins their first sweep of Philadelphia since 2007 in what could be a playoff preview.Crosby’s second otherworldly goal in a week gave the Penguins the lead 17 seconds into the third period. The two-time MVP scored on an intentional double tap against Montreal last Wednesday. That one showcased his exquisite hand-eye coordination.This one showcased his strength.Crosby collected the puck high in the Philadelphia zone, used his left hand to keep Couturier at bay while using his right to dangle the puck before he skated to the left dot and ripped a wrist shot over Philadelphia defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and Mrazek’s glove.”I was trying to skate into space, get open and just kind of watching him do his thing,” Rust said. ”I’m not surprised. He is who he is for a reason.”Couturier exacted a bit of revenge when he knotted it late to assure the Flyers of at least a point to pull them into a third-place tie with Columbus.”It’s a big point,” Couturier said. ”We played a pretty good game overall. For sure, it’s disappointing not coming out of here with two points, but we can build on this and maybe do a little better in little areas. Overall
Anton Khudobin Jersey Womens , I think we can build on this and keep going.”Evgeni Malkin scored his 42nd goal for Pittsburgh, pulling within two of the NHL lead held by Washington’s Alex Ovechkin. Patric Hornqvist and Derick Brassard also scored for Pittsburgh. Justin Schultz had three assists for the Penguins. Matt Murray finished with 41 saves.Rookie Travis Sanheim picked up his second career goal for the Flyers. Brandon Manning and Jordan Weal also scored. Starting goaltender Alex Lyon was pulled early in the second period after giving up three goals on 11 shots. Mrazek made 19 saves, but couldn’t get a glove on Rust’s winner.The erratic Flyers fell to 4-6-3 in March after going 10-1-2 in February and have struggled keeping their cross-state rivals in check this season. Pittsburgh scored five goals in all four season meetings, outscoring Philadelphia 20-12.Considering how crowded the division standings are with two weeks to go in the regular season, a first-round playoff meeting isn’t out of the question.If it happens, it could match the wide-open postseason clash in which the clubs scored 56 goals in six games as Philadelphia pulled off an upset in 2012.Pittsburgh’s play in the defensive end isn’t quite the hot mess it was six years ago, but the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions have struggled with consistency of late and had serious issues – particularly backchecking by the forwards – in keeping the puck out of their end at times.The Penguins have allowed an average of 37.4 shots over their past six games, a number they understand needs to go down if they want to have a realistic shot at a three-peat.”We have moments where I thought we were playing the game the right way,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. ”And then there were moments where we weren’t. It’s finding that consistency that’s going to make us a stiffer team or a stingier team to play against.”NOTES: The Flyers went 1 for 3 on the power play. Pittsburgh went 1 for 2. … The Penguins scratched D Matt Hunwick and Fs Carter Rowney and Zach Aston-Reese. … D Robert Hagg and Fs Taylor Leier and Dale Weise were healthy scratches for Philadelphia.UP NEXTFlyers: Continue three-game road trip in Dallas on Tuesday. Philadelphia edged the Stars 2-1 on Dec. 16.Penguins: Visit Detroit on Tuesday. The teams have split their first two meetings, each winning on home ice.— John Tavares isn’t the only free agent going back to a familiar place.Several players are returning to their former teams and comfortable situations – from James van Riemsdyk going back to Philadelphia on the second-richest July 1 deal to Matt Cullen taking a significant pay cut to rejoin the Pittsburgh Penguins he helped win the Stanley Cup twice. It’s not quite the tug at the heartstrings that led Tavares to sign a $77 million, seven-year deal with his boyhood Toronto Maple Leafs
Wade Megan Jersey Womens , but familiarity was part of the bustle on the opening day of NHL free agency .”I have that comfortablity with knowing a lot about the organization having played there in the past and having a lot of familiar faces still on the staff and stuff like that,” van Riemsdyk said after signing a $35 million, five-year deal with the Flyers. ”Even just remembering to my time previously is just how bad obviously they want to win and they’re willing to put the resources into that. That passion and that commitment to that was a big thing for me.”Unsure there’d be room for him after his old team re-signed Riley Sheahan, Cullen signed a $650,000, one-year deal with the Penguins after spending a season back home in Minnesota. Tomas Plekanec was away from Montreal for only a few months, signing a bonus-laden $2.25 million, one-year deal with the Canadiens after they traded him to the rival Maple Leafs at the deadline.Plekanec had planned since the end of the season to go back to Montreal, where his family remained when he went to Toronto. He will be back at the Bell Centre on a contract that can be worth another $1.25 million in incentives. The 35-year-old will get to play his 1,000th career regular-season game in his familiar blue, white and red uniform this October.”That was my priority
Tobias Rieder Jersey Womens ,” Plekanec said. ”I wanted to come back.”While Plekanec obviously felt a strong connection to Montreal after 14 seasons there, David Perron will be playing for the St. Louis Blues for the third time in his NHL career after signing for $16 million over four years. Perron spent his first six seasons with the Blues after they took him in the first round in 2007, returned as a free agent two summers ago, was taken by the Golden Knights in the expansion draft a year ago and is back again after setting career highs with 50 assists and 66 points in Las Vegas.”Obviously (the Golden Knights) made the right decision with the way that David played for them,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. ”He certainly could’ve made more money on the market. He wanted to come back.”Thomas Vanek enjoyed his 48 games with the Detroit Red Wings in 2016-17 so much he wanted to sign with them last July but they didn’t have enough salary-cap space. When the opportunity presented itself this time, the 34-year-old winger zeroed in on a one-year deal and chose Detroit’s $3 million offer over a few other options.”I loved it there,” Vanek said. ”It was a good it. I really liked the whole culture of the organization and the guys were great. We tried to make it work last year. It didn’t work out, so I’m happy it did this year.”No one says hockey players can’t go home, but there has to be mutual interest. It was simple for the Penguins, who lacked something without Cullen in their second-round loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals. Pittsburgh had tried to reacquire the 41-year-old center at the trade deadline.It was a bit more complicated for the Flyers, who traded van Riemsdyk to Toronto in 2012 in a one-for-one deal for bruising defenseman Luke Schenn. That was under a previous regime that believed the 6-foot-3
Mike Hoffman Jersey Womens , 217-pound left winger wasn’t tough enough, but GM Ron Hextall sees a player who checks the boxes for a playoff contender with a few holes.”We felt with the fit that we needed some size,” Hextall said. ”We needed goal-scoring. We need a left winger. This one just fit all around for us and I think James felt the same way.”The personality fit was there, too, because Flyers management knew van Riemsdyk, who is 29. Coming through Philadelphia’s system as the second overall pick in 2007 helped with Hextall being willing to make his biggest free agent splash.”We know the person – people inside this organization – (and) obviously that helps,” Hextall said.Van Riemsdyk did his homework by talking with captain Claude Giroux, winger Jakub Voracek and recent Flyers players before choosing to return to his first NHL organization. He also fondly remembered the Flyers’ run to the Cup Final in 2010.”Hopefully again we get a chance to do something like that in the future,” he said.—
