Pittsburgh Penguins’ Rickard Rakell, left, celebrates his game-winning goal with Erik Karlsson (65), in the overtime period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. The Penguins won 3-2. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry (35) makes a save during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Pittsburgh quarterback Eli Holstein (10) looks to pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against SMU in Dallas, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby (87) celebrates after getting his 600th career goal in the NHL during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Hockey Club, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored his second goal of the game 2:35 into overtime as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 on Thursday night to end a six-game losing streak.
Crosby found himself in alone on Lukas Dostal and hit the brakes before roofing the puck over the Ducks’ goaltender for the 93rd game-winning goal of his career.
Alex Nedeljkovic made 22 saves for Pittsburgh, which outshot Anaheim 46-23. Dostal stopped 44 shots to keep the Ducks in it, but it still wasn’t enough.
Alex Killorn picked up his second goal of the season for the Ducks, who ended a four-game East Coast trip with a 1-2-1 mark.
Anaheim led going into the third period before Crosby tied it with a redirect off a point shot from Matt Grzelcyk 1:47 into the final frame.
Takeaways
Ducks: The 24-year-old Dostal has built off his strong finish to last season. He remained steady while facing near-relentless pressure from the Penguins while finishing with 40+ saves for the third time in six starts.
Penguins: Pittsburgh needed something positive to happen at the end of a miserable October and responded with a win in front of one of the smallest crowds in the history of PPG Paints Arena.
Key moment
Nedeljkovic made three big saves down the stretch. He turned aside Trevor Zegras with the help of defenseman Marcus Pettersson with 4:25 to go, stoned Cutter Gauthier on a breakaway moments later and stopped a redirect by Pavel Mintyukov in the final seconds to force overtime.
Key stat
85-12-5 — Pittsburgh’s record during Crosby’s career when their longtime captain scores at least twice.
Up next
The Ducks begin a six-game homestand on Sunday against the Blackhawks, while the Penguins host the Canadiens on Saturday.
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in a scrappy contest on Monday night.
Rickard Rakell, Erik Karlsson and Chad Ruhwedel also scored for Pittsburgh, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 36 saves.
“I thought we got better as the night went on,” Nedeljkovic said.
Owen Tippett scored for the Flyers, who have lost seven of nine.
“They were the better team,” Philadelphia coach John Tortorella said. “We weren’t good enough in either end.”
The game was feisty between the in-state rivals, with several scrums around the net and in the corners after plays. The teams combined for 11 penalties that totaled 24 minutes.
Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang was bloodied 5:43 into the third after he threw Philadelphia’s Garnet Hathaway to the ice before getting a stick in the face from Nicolas Deslauriers. Twenty-six seconds later, Scott Laughton and Malkin were scuffling along the back boards.
The Flyers honored their late founder and owner Ed Snider on Saturday, and Snider certainly would have approved of the physical play from the Flyers, whose tough fighting style earned them the nickname “Broad Street Bullies” when they won back-to-back Stanley Cups during Snider’s tenure in 1974 and ’75.
Perhaps Philadelphia was showing its frustration after Malkin capitalized on a turnover by defenseman Egor Zamula and netted his 15th of the season 4:29 into the third to put Pittsburgh comfortably in front 4-1.
“We’ve been playing really well as of late and it makes it easy, makes it fun,” Nedeljkovic said. “That’s how you want to play.”
The Penguins will have a chance to even the four-game season series when they host Philadelphia in the final contest between the teams on Feb. 25.
Rakell opened the scoring just 45 seconds into the contest with a power-play tally after an early tripping penalty on Sean Couturier. Karlsson’s shot from long range through a screen almost seven minutes later beat goalie Carter Hart, who made 36 stops.
Tippett got the Flyers on the board with 5:05 left in the first period with a rare power-play goal for Philadelphia. The Flyers entered last in the league by converting on just 10.2% (13 of 128) of their chances this season. But Tippett finished on a wrist shot from the right circle after a beautiful setup from Zamula.
“We’re just struggling scoring,” Tortorella said. “We don’t have enough people going offensively.”
A surprising trade was announced in the first period. The Flyers acquired defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick in 2025 from Anaheim for high-scoring college left wing Cutter Gauthier.
(Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson, second from right, celebrates an overtime goal by right wing Bryan Rust as Los Angeles Kings goaltender Pheonix Copley, left, and center Phillip Danault stand in goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, in Los Angeles.0 (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jason Robertson’s hard work in the crease gave the star forward his first goal of the season. His diving effort on a loose puck in the offensive zone helped put the game away.
Robertson set up Thomas Harley’s third-period goal and Wyatt Johnston scored later in the period to help the Dallas Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Tuesday night.
“He was excellent tonight,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “He’s a game-breaking guy. When he’s feeling it like he was, you can tell that he was in one of those zones where he was going to be a difference-maker.”
Bryan Rust scored the first goal for Pittsburgh, but Dallas had the next four. The Stars haven’t lost in regulation yet this season.
Robertson, who scored 46 goals last season, scored his first on Tuesday, as did Evgenii Dadonov before third-period goals from Harley and Johnston.
“I haven’t gotten many scoring chances lately, so hopefully I can keep that confidence going and get rolling and start to feel it,” Robertson said.
Jake Oettinger stopped 38 shots for the Stars, who won their third straight. Dallas has won four of its first five games this season.
“Once (Robertson) scored, I think everybody kind of took a breath and we just played our game,” DeBoer said.
Penguins defenseman John Ludvig, making his NHL debut, left with an injury at 10:41 of the second period. He was briefly knocked unconscious following a collision at center ice with Stars forward Radek Faksa. Ludvig, who was claimed off waivers from Florida before the season started, lay face down, motionless on the ice for several minutes while trainers and medical staff from both teams attended to him. He was eventually helped to his feet and skated from the ice with assistance from teammates Marcus Pettersson and Noel Acciari.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said that Ludvig was being evaluated.
“It’s a scary moment when you see a player like that,” Sullivan said. “Those are scary to watch. We’re hopeful he’s going to be OK.”
Rust scored his fifth goal in six games for the Penguins, who lost their third straight. Pittsburgh has lost four of its first six games this season. The Penguins’ power play, which is 2-for-16 this season, went 0-for-3 on Tuesday and hasn’t scored in four games.
Alex Nedeljkovic made 30 saves.
“Guys are frustrated because they want to get results,” Sullivan said. “These guys are competitive guys and they care an awful lot. When it doesn’t go the right way, of course frustration sets in.”
Harley put Dallas in front 3-1 at 5:22 of the third period. Nedeljkovic strayed from his crease to poke a loose puck away, but a diving Robertson got to it first and the puck eventually reached Harley, who put it into a partially open net. Johnston capped the scoring at 13:51 following a net-mouth scramble.
CROSBY CHASES HISTORY
Sidney Crosby, who assisted on Rust’s first goal of the game, is now one assist from entering into the top 15 in NHL history in career assists.
Crosby leads all active players with 955 career assists. With one more assist, Crosby will tie former Penguin Mark Recchi. Crosby is 45 assists from becoming the 14th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career assists.
UP NEXT:
Stars: Host Toronto on Thursday.
Penguins: Continue a four-game homestand on Thursday against Colorado.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Connor Bedard skated into the faceoff circle, saw one of his idols standing across from him and tried to soak in the moment.
That really was Sidney Crosby within arm’s reach. That really was referee Kelly Sutherland welcoming him to the NHL on national television. That really was a sellout crowd pulling cameras out trying to capture the meeting of two generational talents at opposite ends of their careers.
Then the puck dropped, and the instincts that have made the 18-year-old Bedard the NHL’s next big thing kicked in.
Playing with a charismatic fearlessness, Bedard dazzled in Chicago’s 4-2 comeback win over Crosby and the Penguins on Tuesday night.
The top pick in the draft picked up an assist and fired five shots at Tristan Jarry while playing 21:29, hardly looking intimidated by the stage, the stakes or pretty much anything else.
“I think, for me, it’s just trying to get better every shift, every game,” Bedard said. “I created a bit. There’s obviously things I can get better at. But felt pretty good.”
Looked pretty good too. Penguins defenseman Kris Letang gave Bedard a couple of “welcome to the NHL hits,” not in an attempt to send a message but because at times it was the only way to keep up with Bedard.
“He’s so good, so shifty,” Letang said. “He’s got great moves. I had to play him hard. He’s really deceptive. You can’t even look at the puck one second, because he’s so fast.”
Chicago trailed 2-0 when Crosby began his 19th season by scoring his 551st career goal, a shot into an open net off a pass from Jake Guentzel 11:56 into the second period.
The Blackhawks roared back behind a goal from Ryan Donato — with a secondary assist from Bedard — in the second period and Cole Guttman’s goal midway through the third. Jason Dickinson gave Chicago the lead with 4:31 remaining. Nick Foligno’s empty-netter with 1:33 to go sent most of the sellout crowd that came to watch one of the NHL’s brightest stars take on one of its newest home.
“I feel like that was a complete game,” Dickinson said. “We played the full 60. We stuck to our game plan. We played a hard game. It’s nice when you get rewarded.”
Petr Mrazek stopped 38 shots for the Blackhawks.
Crosby and Bryan Rust scored for the Penguins, who had their run of 16 consecutive playoff appearances end last spring thanks in part to a late-season pratfall against the Blackhawks. Pittsburgh retooled over the summer, including adding three-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson.
Fireworks, however, were hard to come by for the NHL’s oldest team. Jarry made 32 saves but the Penguins let a lead slip away late, a problem that plagued them at times last season.
“First game, I don’t think anybody is firing on all cylinders at this point,” Crosby said. “There are certainly some things we can do better, be more detailed defensively.”
Bedard’s arrival in the NHL had been anticipated for years, much like Crosby’s when the Penguins grabbed him with the top overall selection in 2005, all of 13 days after Bedard was born. His arrival in Chicago has given the beleaguered franchise a much-needed jolt even though there almost certainly will be some growing pains on a team that’s missed the playoffs five of the last six seasons as the dynasty that won three Stanley Cups between 2010-15 faded.
Like Crosby, Bedard seems at ease with the attention that has followed him from childhood prodigy to the NHL. He joked during the morning skate that he slept “like a baby.” He sprinted onto the ice with fellow Blackhawks rookie Kevin Korchinski during warmups, the two teenagers having the rink to themselves momentarily as is tradition for players making their NHL debuts.
Bedard was fidgety during the national anthem, his legs in constant motion, eager to get a moment he’d been dreaming about since he was a phenom growing up in British Columbia, Canada.
While he didn’t win that opening faceoff — he didn’t win many, going just 2 for 13 on draws — once the puck was in motion, Bedard was frequently a blur.
He recorded the first shot of his career just over six minutes in on a one-timer with Chicago on the power play. He kept right on pumping pucks at Jarry, his No. 98 constantly in motion. He was unafraid to fling his 5-foot-10, 185-pound frame into tight spaces, be they the front of the net or the corners.
Bedard seemed to surprise Jarry with a shot from the short side early in the second and collected the first point of his career late in the second period when he dropped a backhand pass to Alex Vlasic, who then bulled his way in close for a shot whose rebound ended up on the stick of Donato to bring the Blackhawks within 2-1.
Guttman then tied it just past the midway point of the third period with a laser from the slot and Dickinson put the Blackhawks in front to offer a glimpse of the team Chicago hopes it can become on a regular basis, with Bedard at the center of it all.
“He’s a very mature kid for his age,” Dickinson said. “There’s a ton that’s been put on him. It doesn’t seem to phase him. Doesn’t seem to even hit him.”
UP NEXT
Blackhawks: Travel to Boston on Wednesday.
Penguins: Visit longtime Metropolitan Division rival Washington on Friday.
(AP) Carl Hagelin has decided to retire from the NHL at age 35, citing an eye injury that has kept him out of game action for nearly a year and a half.
Hagelin has not played since taking an errant stick to his left eye during Washington Capitals practice on March 1, 2022. He underwent surgery, and the team immediately deemed it a serious injury with concern about Hagelin’s quality of life outside hockey.
The smooth-skating Swedish winger also had hip resurfacing surgery this past February. That followed arthroscopic surgery in October, which was an attempt to solve a chronic left hip injury.
Hagelin announced his decision in an Instagram post Wednesday, calling his career an amazing ride that ends here.
“Unfortunately my eye injury is too severe to keep playing the game I love,” he posted. “I want to thank all my amazing teammates, doctors and other staff members that I’ve met and played with throughout the years.”
Hagelin retires having won the Stanley Cup twice with the Pittsburgh Penguins, back to back in 2016 and 2017.
A sixth-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2007, Hagelin impressed them during four years at the University of Michigan to earn a roster spot in the minors. He played only 17 games in the American Hockey League before getting called up to the NHL and lasted there for more than a decade.
Since making his debut in 2011, Hagelin played 854 regular-season and playoff games over 11 seasons with the Rangers, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Penguins and Capitals.