Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists Thursday as the Pittsburgh Penguins downed the visiting Arizona Coyotes 6-2 in the teams’ curtain-lifter.
The 35-year-old Crosby is playing in his 18th season, passing Mario Lemieux’s 17 for the most in Penguins history. Crosby’s teammates Evgeni Malkin, 36, and Kris Letang, 35, are in their 17th seasons with the club.
Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust and Jason Zucker each had a goal and an assist, Malkin and Kasperi Kapanen also scored and Letang and Danton Heinen each added two assists for the Penguins, who have won nine straight against the Coyotes.
Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry made 26 saves.
Nick Ritchie scored two power-play goals and Shayne Gostisbehere and J.J. Moser each had two assists for the Coyotes.
Arizona goaltender Karel Vejmelka stopped 47 shots.
Pittsburgh got a quick lead. Guentzel, from near the right corner, sent a backhand feed to Crosby in the slot. Crosby one-timed the puck under Vejmelka’s pads to make it 1-0 at 1:22 of the first.
Just after a Penguins power play ended, Zucker increased it to 2-0 at 4:12 of the first. His blast from above the left circle eluded Vejmelka as Jeff Carter provided a screen.
Guentzel struck 58 seconds later, this one on a Pittsburgh power play. He had an open half-net when he caught up to a rebound of a shot by Rust and scored from a sharp angle to make it 3-0.
The Coyotes got their first goal when Ritchie scored during a power play at 16:10 of the second. Gostibehere, from the right circle, sent a feed to Ritchie in the slot. Ritchie banged the puck off the left post, off Jarry and in to close it to 3-1.
With 48.9 seconds left in the second, Malkin scored on a Penguins power play, a backhander from the slot on a rebound of a Crosby shot, to push it to 4-1.
Ritchie closed it to 4-2 at 4:46 of the third with his second power-play goal. He got the puck in the slot, held it and tucked it past Jarry’s stick as the goalie lunged to his right.
Rust gave Pittsburgh some insurance at 15:01 of the third when he pushed the puck in from a scramble around the crease. Kapanen closed the scoring, polishing off a 2-on-1 with Heinen at 17:37.
–Field Level Media
