Penguins Rally for OT Win as Sidney Crosby Ties NHL Assist Record originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Add SportsNet Pittsburgh as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Pittsburgh Penguins erased a late deficit Saturday night, rallying to beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 in overtime while Sidney Crosby reached another milestone in his legendary career.
Ville Koivunen scored the winning goal at 3:44 of overtime, completing Pittsburgh’s comeback after Rickard Rakell forced the extra period with 1:06 remaining in regulation.
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Crosby assisted on Rakell’s tying goal, recording his 1,111th career assist with Pittsburgh. The Penguins captain matched Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque for the most assists with a single franchise in NHL history. Bourque recorded all 1,111 of his assists with the Boston Bruins.
Crosby previously moved past Wayne Gretzky, who recorded 1,086 assists with the Edmonton Oilers, for second place on the list. Now, he shares the top spot with Bourque and is within reach of setting the record outright.
The milestone came at a crucial moment for Pittsburgh, which needed a late push to avoid another loss against Nashville.
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Penguins Complete Comeback Against Predators
The Predators struck first when Steven Stamkos opened the scoring in the first period. Connor Dewar responded just 18 seconds into the second period to pull Pittsburgh even, but Jayden Struble restored Nashville’s lead later in the frame.
Pittsburgh struggled to find the equalizer for much of the third period before pulling its goaltender for an extra attacker. Crosby then delivered a cross-ice pass to Rakell, who finished the opportunity with just over a minute remaining to send the game to overtime.
Koivunen finished the comeback in the extra period, beating Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle.
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Arturs Silovs stopped 24 shots for Pittsburgh, while Saros made 34 saves for Nashville.
The victory marked Pittsburgh’s second consecutive win following a four-game losing streak. The Penguins also extended their strong run against the Predators, earning points in 10 straight games and 23 of their last 27 meetings with Nashville.
Pittsburgh played without Evgeni Malkin, who missed the game because of an illness, and Egor Chinakhov, who was sidelined with a lower-body injury.
The Penguins will look to build on the comeback as they continue their season, with Crosby now one assist away from standing alone atop the NHL record book for assists with a single franchise.
