Penguins overcome Sidney Crosby injury scare and 2-0 deficit but fall to Devils in shootout
Published in Hockey
PITTSBURGH — The Penguins survived a Sidney Crosby injury scare and overcame a 2-0 deficit on Tuesday. But they lost again to the New Jersey Devils, falling 3-2 via the shootout.
Pittsburgh is 1-7-2 in the last 10 games against New Jersey, losing both this season.
The Penguins trailed, 2-1, with 16:02 to go in the third period when their captain, hunched over and skating slowly, went to the bench and then right down the tunnel toward the home dressing room at PPG Paints Arena. Crosby was wincing in pain.
Crosby was hurt during bang-bang collisions with Luke Hughes and Erik Haula of the Devils. It appeared a Haula hit to the back of his left shoulder is what sent him off.
With Crosby in the locker room, Kevin Hayes scored to make it 2-2. Pierre-Olivier Joseph set him up, driving the net out of the corner and dishing it to Hayes in front.
Crosby returned not long after that. He missed about eight minutes of game action.
That was a relief to the Penguins and also our neighbors to the north. Crosby is the captain for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off. The tournament begins on Feb. 12.
The Penguins were the better team in the first period Tuesday but couldn’t grab a lead, at least not legally. Rickard Rakell had a goal waved off because of his distinct kicking motion. They also squandered two power plays and saw Cody Glass miss an exposed net before Jack Hughes gave the Devils a 1-0 advantage late in the period.
Hughes added another in the second period while the teams were playing 4-on-4.
Later in the second, Rakell got a wraparound goal on Nico Daws to pull the Penguins back within a goal. Hayes scored the tying goal, also at 4-on-4, in the third period.
The Penguins dominated puck possession in overtime but couldn’t score on Daws. Then Alex Nedeljkovic denied Hughes on a breakaway just before the buzzer blared.
Timo Meier scored the winner for the Devils in the seventh round of the shootout.
Ice chips
— Rakell, now up to 24 goals on the season, was officially named to Sweden’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament on Tuesday. He replaces William Karlsson.
— The Devils played most of the game with five defensemen after losing Jonas Siegenthaler to a lower-body injury, the result of an awkward tumble on the boards.
— Evgeni Malkin remained sidelined by the lower-body injury he suffered Jan. 25 at Seattle. He participated in the optional skate but has not been cleared for contact.
— Matt Nieto, Jesse Puljujarvi and Ryan Shea were again scratched by Pittsburgh.
Coming up
The Penguins are scheduled to practice on Wednesday and Thursday before a road back-to-back over the weekend. The first game is Friday at Madison Square Garden.
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