Crosby, Malkin score on Fleury in final head-to-head meeting
Sidney Crosby scored twice, Evgeni Malkin also had a goal and Tristan Jarry made 30 saves and had an assist to help the Pittsburgh Penguins snap a four-game skid with a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Sidney Crosby scored twice, Evgeni Malkin also had a goal and Tristan Jarry made 30 saves and had an assist to help the Pittsburgh Penguins snap a four-game skid with a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
Jarry made his first start since being sent to the minors on Jan. 16 as Pittsburgh won for only the second time in regulation in its last 11 games.
Ryan Hartman scored for Minnesota, which lost for the fifth time in seven games. In likely his last game against the franchise with which he won three Stanley Cups during 13 seasons, Marc-Andre Fleury made 20 saves.
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Malkin put the puck past Fleury with 3 seconds left on a power play in the second period for a 1-0 lead. Minnesota has the league’s worst home penalty kill at 66.7%.
Crosby scored on a rebound midway through the third period for a 2-0 lead and later added an empty-netter.
“I think it’s fun to compete (against him),” Crosby said, according to NHL.com. “He’s probably saved a lot more than I’ve scored against him, but definitely a fun competition there. That definitely made me better, and having him as a teammate did, too. It’s one of those things that you get out there and you compete, you try to have fun with it. But I really enjoyed having him on our team.”
“I feel like I’m going to hear about this for a long time,” Fleury said. “He still talks about his goal in Juniors against me. Lucky too. Missed his shot and it hit (Brock Faber’s) stick. It’s like, are you kidding me, this guy. I don’t know, I still played for the win. That is what matters, right? That is what (annoyed me) the most, losing that game.”
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Takeaways
Penguins: With the win, coach Mike Sullivan is the 14th head coach in NHL history — and first American-born head coach — to win 400 games with one franchise.
Wild: This was the first game of a stretch during which Minnesota plays seven straight at home and nine of 10. The Wild are a league-best 22-10-3 on the road, but just 14-14-1 at Xcel Energy Center.
Key moment
With the game scoreless midway through the second, Minnesota didn’t move well without the puck, largely stayed on the perimeter and managed just two shots during a four-minute power play. The Wild finished 1 for 6 with a man advantage.
Key stat
Fleury’s start was the 1,015th of his career, breaking a tie with Roberto Luongo for second-most in league history. Martin Brodeur started 1,251 games in his Hall of Fame career.
Up next
Pittsburgh starts a five-game homestand Tuesday against Vegas. Minnesota is home against Colorado Tuesday.
