Two teams that are consistently atop the NHL standings used their veterans to show exactly why that's the case on Tuesday night. First, Sidney Crosby scored twice, including the game-winning backhand in overtime, lifting the Pittsburgh Penguins over the Edmonton Oilers, 6-5. Crosby's nifty game-winner was just 2:12 in to the extra period and beat Oilers goalie Cam Talbot, giving the Penguins the win in a showdown that was headlined as "Crosby vs. McDavid."
Pittsburgh has now won consecutive games, as Jamie Oleksiak and Patric Hornqvist both scored twice, giving the Penguins their fourth win and 10 points on the season. Meanwhile, the Oilers' have dropped consecutive games and they fell to 3-3-1 on the season. Leon Draisaitl and Alex Chiasson each scored twice, while Connor McDavid scored the only other tally at home for Edmonton. It was a tough loss for the Oilers, as Milan Lucic said after the game "I felt that we deserved those two points tonight."
Matt Murray made 41 saves in the offensive showdown for the visitors, while Talbot had 25 stops in the Oilers' loss. Crosby's first goal came just 11 minutes in to the game, and was his first in seven games, snapping the longest scoring drought of his career. The Penguins have still been able to go 4-1-2 without Crosby getting on the scoreboard, as they move on to visit the Calgary Flames Thursday night. The Oilers will remain home to host Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals that same night.
Elsewhere, the San Jose Sharks needed a rally and got it by scoring three times in the third period to lift the Sharks past the red-hot Nashville Predators, 5-4. Brent Burns scored on the power play with 2:52 to play, helping the Sharks stun the Predators and hand them just their second loss of the season. All three of the Sharks' goals came in the final eight minutes of regulation, as Joe Pavelski tied it and Brendon Dillon found the back of the net in the final period.
Dillon's tally was of the short-handed variety, as Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier both scored in the Sharks' third straight victory. San Jose now has five wins and 11 points to put them in first place early on in the Pacific Division. Meanwhile, the Predators dropped to 7-2, despite Viktor Arvidsson's two goals and one assist. Filip Fosberg also scored, helping the Predators build a 4-1 lead, which was down to 4-2 through two periods.
Martin Jones made 25 saves for the Sharks and got the win, despite his rocky start. Juuse Saros made his first back-to-back starts of his NHL career and stopped 27 shots, but fell to 4-1-0 on the season. He is their top guy between the pipes now that Pekka Rinne is on injured reserve. The Predators will now hit the road to battle the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night, while the Sharks will visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.
Pittsburgh has now won consecutive games, as Jamie Oleksiak and Patric Hornqvist both scored twice, giving the Penguins their fourth win and 10 points on the season. Meanwhile, the Oilers' have dropped consecutive games and they fell to 3-3-1 on the season. Leon Draisaitl and Alex Chiasson each scored twice, while Connor McDavid scored the only other tally at home for Edmonton. It was a tough loss for the Oilers, as Milan Lucic said after the game "I felt that we deserved those two points tonight."
Matt Murray made 41 saves in the offensive showdown for the visitors, while Talbot had 25 stops in the Oilers' loss. Crosby's first goal came just 11 minutes in to the game, and was his first in seven games, snapping the longest scoring drought of his career. The Penguins have still been able to go 4-1-2 without Crosby getting on the scoreboard, as they move on to visit the Calgary Flames Thursday night. The Oilers will remain home to host Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals that same night.
Elsewhere, the San Jose Sharks needed a rally and got it by scoring three times in the third period to lift the Sharks past the red-hot Nashville Predators, 5-4. Brent Burns scored on the power play with 2:52 to play, helping the Sharks stun the Predators and hand them just their second loss of the season. All three of the Sharks' goals came in the final eight minutes of regulation, as Joe Pavelski tied it and Brendon Dillon found the back of the net in the final period.
Dillon's tally was of the short-handed variety, as Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier both scored in the Sharks' third straight victory. San Jose now has five wins and 11 points to put them in first place early on in the Pacific Division. Meanwhile, the Predators dropped to 7-2, despite Viktor Arvidsson's two goals and one assist. Filip Fosberg also scored, helping the Predators build a 4-1 lead, which was down to 4-2 through two periods.
Martin Jones made 25 saves for the Sharks and got the win, despite his rocky start. Juuse Saros made his first back-to-back starts of his NHL career and stopped 27 shots, but fell to 4-1-0 on the season. He is their top guy between the pipes now that Pekka Rinne is on injured reserve. The Predators will now hit the road to battle the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night, while the Sharks will visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.
