Fast start sends Penguins to win in Montreal
MONTREAL – Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel each had four-point performances as the Pittsburgh Penguins earned a 5-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night as both teams continue to battle for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Guentzel scored two goals and had two assists while Crosby scored and added three assists for the Penguins (34-22-9). Evgeni Malkin and Jared McCann, into the empty net, also scored for Pittsburgh while goalie Matt Murray stopped 36 of 37 shots.
Both the Penguins and Canadiens now have 77 points in the standings. Pittsburgh is in the first wild-card spot while Montreal dropped down into the second.
Brendan Gallagher scored the only goal for the Canadiens (35-24-7). Carey Price gave up four goals on 24 shots. He is still one victory away from tying Jacques Plante’s franchise record with 314.
It was the second of back-to-back games for both teams. Pittsburgh lost 4-3 in overtime in Buffalo on Friday while Montreal defeated the New York Rangers 4-2.
Pittsburgh jumped to an early 3-0 lead on its first four shots of the game.
The Penguins needed just 21 seconds to beat Price after a bad giveaway by Jordie Benn in his own zone led to Crosby’s deflected goal. The goal moved Crosby into second place on the penguins’ all-time goal-scoring list with 440.