Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby made a statement against the Columbus Blue Jackets by scoring the 16th hat trick of his career in a 5-3 win at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday night.
The 36-year-old striker also scored his last hat trick there, on January 21, 2022. He has now scored 13 hat tricks in the regular season, as many as his teammate Evgeni Malkin, who is third among active players.
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Crosby scored a point in the ninth straight game and the Penguins won their fifth game in a row. Five minutes after the 4-3 lead, the number 87 secured his team’s victory in the empty goal.
Jake Guentzel and Erik Karlsson also scored, while the Jackets responded with Kirill Marchenko, Yegor Chinakhov and Alexandre Texier.
Knight deleted
In Washington, the Vegas Golden Knights suffered a shutout for the first time since February 27 as Charlie Lindgren and the Capitals tied.
The former Montreal Canadiens goalie made 35 saves to help the Knights win 3-0. The reigning Stanley Cup champions will also face the Habs next Thursday.
After scoring two goals on Saturday, Alexander Ovechkin made his teammates stand out. Dylan Strome scored at the end of the first period and we had to wait until the final minute of the game for the ropes to shake again. Connor McMichael scored into an empty net, then Beck Malenstyn surprised Logan Thompson with a great escape feint.
This is just Vegas’ third regular-time loss in 16 games this season.