Crosby has goal, 3 assists as Penguins beat Maple Leafs 5-2
DAN SCIFO Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2. Bryan Rust had a goal and two assists, and Jason Zucker, Teddy Blueger and Anthony Angello also scored as Pittsburgh moved past Washington into first place in the Metropolitan Division. Tristan Jarry stopped 34 shots while picking up his 13th win in his last 17 games. Auston Matthews scored his 43rd goal for the Maple Leafs and Kyle Clifford scored his seventh of the season and first since he was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings. Frederik Andersen stopped 19 shots for Toronto.

Zucker’s two goals help Penguins beat Canadiens 4-1
By DAN SCIFO Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Newly-acquired Jason Zucker scored his first two goals with the Pittsburgh Penguins during a 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Zucker scored his 15th and 16th of the season in a 1:42 span, with Montreal’s Tomas Tatar getting a goal in between. Zucker provided 2-0 and 3-1 leads and has nine goals in 12 career games against the Canadiens. Kris Letang scored a power-play goal against his hometown team and his 13th overall of the season, and Zach Aston-Reese added an empty-net goal. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby had three assists. Tatar scored his 21st of the season for Montreal

Gourde lifts Lightning over Pens 2-1 in OT for 8th straight
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
Yanni Gourde’s wrist shot from in close 2:45 into overtime gave the streaking Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Lightning picked up their eighth straight win when Gourde took a cross-ice feed from Brayden Point and ripped the puck over Matt Murray’s right arm. Gourde’s seventh goal of the season created a mob scene near the Pittsburgh net as Tampa Bay improved to 20-2-1 since Dec. 23. Evgeni Malkin got his 18th goal for Pittsburgh and Murray finished with 36 saves but couldn’t get a piece of Gourde’s winner.

Crosby leads Penguins over Panthers 3-2
By PAUL GEREFFI Associated Press
Sidney Crosby scored his 10th goal in the second period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins held off the Florida Panthers for a 3-2 win. Kris Letang had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who improved to 9-3-0 in their past 12 games. Teddy Blueger also scored, and Tristan Jarry stopped 33 shots. Florida dropped to 1-3-1 since returning from the All-Star break. Mike Hoffman had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, and Brett Connolly also scored. Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves.

Stamkos, Kucherov, Vasilevskiy lift Lightning over Pens
By ERIK ERLENDSSON Associated Press
Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov scored, Andre Vasilevskiy made 29 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. Vasilevskiy improved to 15-0-2 in his past 17 starts to set a franchise record for consecutive games without a regulation loss. Tampa Bay won its eighth consecutive game at home. Mikhail Sergachev and Anthony Cirelli also scored for Tampa Bay, which has won 18 of its past 21 games. Stamkos and Kucherov each got their 25th goals of the season, with Kucherov scoring an empty-netter. Evgeni Malkin and John Marino scored for Pittsburgh. Matt Murray finished with 25 saves.

Penguins beat Capitals in 50th game between Crosby, Ovechkin
By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer
Matt Murray made 29 saves and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the 50th regular-season game between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. The Penguins crept within four points of the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals with an extra game left to play. They’re 2-0 out of their bye week and have won five of seven since Crosby came back. Sam Lafferty, Patric Hornqvist, Dominik Simon and Brandon Tanev scored for Pittsburgh. Rookie goaltender Ilya Samsonov allowed four goals to lose his first career start against the Penguins. Ovechkin was held off the score sheet and remains at 695 career goals.