Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have orchestrated numerous comebacks throughout their 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Their third-period performance against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night ranks among their best.
Crosby and Malkin each scored twice in Pittsburgh’s five-goal third period, propelling the Penguins to a 6-3 victory over the Devils and keeping their playoff hopes alive.
After defeating the Rangers 5-2 on Monday, the Penguins’ back-to-back wins have moved them within three points of Washington for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with seven games remaining.
“We feel like we’ve done some good things, we’re working hard, and everybody’s contributing,” Crosby said. “Especially at a big time of year like this, that’s what you need.”
The Devils led 3-1 after two periods with goals from Timo Meier, Curtis Lazar, and Jesper Bratt. However, Crosby and Malkin scored 67 seconds apart early in the third period to tie the game.
“It was a gutsy effort,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We hung in there, dug in, and I give our guys much credit.”
Rickard Rakell put Pittsburgh ahead with 3:44 left to play, followed by Malkin’s second goal of the night just 21 seconds later, his 23rd of the season. Crosby, an unassisted empty-netter, sealed the win with his team-leading 39th goal at 17:07.
“We played with emotion and got rewarded,” Rakell said.
Erik Karlsson scored first for Pittsburgh at 7:54 of the first period. Meier tied the game with 16.6 seconds left in the first on a power play, netting his 25th goal past Alex Nedeljkovic, who made 23 saves.
“He battles,” Sullivan said of Nedeljkovic, who is 14-6-6 in his first season with the Penguins and played on Monday. “He competes and wills himself to make saves.”
Lazar’s goal at 9:42 of the second period put New Jersey ahead, and Bratt extended the lead with his 25th goal on a breakaway at 17:47 of the middle period.
Crosby scored on a power play at 6:48 of the third, and Malkin tied the game at 3 with a goal at 7:55. Rookie defenseman Jack St. Ivany assisted Malkin’s goal, marking his first NHL point. The Penguins then scored three more times to shock the Devils.
“Geno comes up with a huge tip, then Raks and Geno again,” Crosby said of the late goals. “We did a great job. We earned that one.”
Jake Allen made 15 saves for New Jersey, now six points behind the Capitals and seven points behind the third-place Philadelphia Flyers in the Metropolitan Division.
“Once they made it 3-3, we made some mistakes, and you can’t make mistakes this time of year,” Devils interim head coach Travis Green said. “It’s unfortunate with how well we played in the first two periods.”
Crosby leads the Penguins with 84 points, and his 1,586 career points are the most among active players. The 36-year-old center is four points behind Phil Esposito for 10th place on the career points list.
The 37-year-old Malkin has 494 career goals and 1,287 points. He has scored 20 or more goals in 15 of his 18 seasons with the Penguins.
The Penguins are 386-87-46 when Crosby and Malkin record a point in the same game. In 85 career games against New Jersey, Crosby has 41 goals and 92 points.
Pittsburgh is trying to avoid a second consecutive season without making the playoffs for the first time in Crosby’s career, which began in 2005-06. Malkin joined the Penguins the following season, and the longtime teammates won the Stanley Cup together in 2009, 2016, and 2017.
The late collapse added to New Jersey’s frustrating season following last year’s 112-point finish and a first-round playoff victory over the Rangers.
“The other team had momentum and found their game,” Green added. “It’s disheartening.”
UP NEXT:
- Penguins: At Dallas on Friday night in the second of a three-game road trip.
- Devils: Host Winnipeg on Thursday night in the second of a three-game homestand.
