TORONTO —
Sidney Crosby and James Neal scored shootout goals, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on Saturday night for their NHL-leading 11th road win.
Neal opened the shootout with a goal against James Reimer before Crosby sealed the win on Pittsburgh’s second attempt after Marc-Andre Fleury stopped Toronto’s Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri.
Phil Kessel forced overtime for the Maple Leafs with his seventh of the season at 15:40 of the third.
Neal, Crosby, Beau Bennett and Pascal Dupuis scored in regulation for Pittsburgh (17-8-0), which outshot Toronto 41-26. Crosby scored in his first game in Toronto in over three years to extend his point streak to a season-high seven games (five goals, 10 assists).
James van Riemsdyk, Cody Franson and Clarke MacArthur had the other goals for Toronto (15-10-1). Defenseman Dion Phaneuf added three assists.
Crosby, who leads the NHL with 40 points (12 goals, 28 assists), played in Toronto for the first time since Jan. 9, 2010.
In 11 career visits, Crosby has nine goals and six assists. He has an eight-game point streak against the Maple Leafs.
Overall, Crosby has 19 goals and 19 assists in 24 career meetings with the Maple Leafs.
Pittsburgh outshot Toronto 13-5 in the first period and grabbed a quick lead when Neal scored his 16th of the season just 36 seconds in. Matt Niskanen’s point shot was partially blocked, but the puck dribbled into the slot to Neal, who fired a shot past Reimer.
Van Riemsdyk tied it at 7:14 during a power play, scoring his 14th goal, but Crosby and Bennett combined to give Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead.
Crosby netted his 12th goal at 14:31 after Reimer couldn’t control Kris Letang’s shot, allowing Letang to get the rebound back to Crosby. Bennett’s shot got past Reimer at 15:21, giving Bennett his second of the season.
Franson’s second of the year pulled Toronto within a goal on the power play at 10:12 of the second, while Crosby was off for tripping. Dupuis put Pittsburgh ahead 4-2 at 13:01 with his ninth, but MacArthur made it 4-3 a minute later with his seventh.
Reimer finished with 37 saves.
Notes: Forward Matt Frattin returned to Toronto’s lineup after missing 12 games because of a knee injury. ... Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin earned an assist on Bennett’s goal, giving him points in nine of 11 games in Toronto. ... The Maple Leafs entered leading the NHL in hits (773) and fighting majors (25). ... The Penguins will be back in Toronto for another game on Thursday. ... Crosby came into the game with an average of 1.63 points per game, the NHL’s best mark since Penguins owner Mario Lemieux averaged 1.77 points per game in the 2000-01 season.
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Related Photos
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Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin (right) collides with Toronto’s Carl Gunnarsson as they battle for the puck during the first period of Saturday’s game. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young) The Canadian Press, Chris Young
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