Crosby ends goal drought, Penguins defeat Red Wings

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 6-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.

It was Crosby's first goal since Feb. 25, ending an 11-game goal drought. 

Reilly Smith, Valtteri Puustinen and Lars Eller each had a goal and an assist, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves for the Penguins (30-28-9), who have won two of three.

“I thought it was good,” Crosby said. “Today, I thought we worked hard, generated a lot, especially in the first half of the game. That was the difference. Just converted.”

Lucas Raymond scored twice, and Alex Lyon made 32 saves for the Red Wings (34-28-6), who have lost eight of nine.

Detroit won 4-1 against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday to end a seven-game losing streak.

“I think there's a little recipe for this group,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “We played extremely well last night. Things we've been trying to emphasize, better D-zone, managing the puck. There were moments in tonight's game that got away from us. This is a really talented team. If you're not hard on them, if you don't take away their time and space, that's what it's going to look like."

Smith put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0 at 10:10 of the first period. Marcus Pettersson shot into the slot, where it went in off Smith’s right leg.

Raymond tied it 1-1 at 15:39, scoring for the fourth straight game on a wrist shot glove side from the left face-off circle.

Crosby gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 18:53. Red Wings forward Andrew Copp tapped the rebound of a shot from Ryan Graves toward Crosby, who used his skate to collect it and shoot a backhand five-hole.

“Been a while,” Crosby said. “Nice to see it go in. Hopefully some more will start to go in. There are some huge games coming up. It would be nice to see some more go in the net.”

Puustinen made it 3-1 at 19:16, taking a pass from Smith below the goal line and scoring with a snap shot from the right circle.

Pittsburgh outshot Detroit 15-4 in the first.

Michael Bunting extended the lead to 4-1 at 9:34 of the second period, diving to score on a rebound at the top of the crease off a shot from Puustinen.

Christian Fischer cut it to 4-2 at 17:35 with a one-timer from the slot.

“We give their skill and their guys that much time on the power play, they get touches, they get looks, they get momentum, they get rolling," Lalonde said. "Our first power play ended up being in the second period, we get five or six shots on it. We dominated the next two shifts, and we get a goal.”

Eller made it 5-2 at 19:39, deflecting a shot from Crosby on a power play.

“It is a playoff situation for us right now,” Eller said. “We have to win way more games than we’re losing to stay in the fight. We’re still believing and still hanging in, taking one game at a time. It’s a little bit of a playoff mentality.”

Raymond cut the lead to 5-3 at 16:37 of the third period, scoring a power-play goal on a one-timer from the slot with Lyon on the bench for an extra attacker.

"Our best player,” Lalonde said of Raymond. “Every night he's been our most consistent player throughout this stretch. We need more guys to jump on with him."

Drew O'Connor scored an empty-net goal with 26 seconds remaining for the 6-3 final.

“I thought we were much better defensively tonight, certainly, than we were yesterday (in a 7-4 loss to the New York Rangers),” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “Give Detroit credit, they’ve got some good players. They’re going to get some looks, but I thought we just did a better job defending with numbers and keeping the puck to the perimeter. That’s just an essential aspect of winning.”

NOTES: Crosby scored his 583rd career goal, tying Wayne Gretzky (583 with the Edmonton Oilers) for the seventh-most by a player with one franchise. … Bunting has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 10 career games against the Red Wings. … Raymond's four-game goal streak is tied for his career high (Nov. 11-22, 2023). ... Detroit defenseman Jake Walman played in his 200th NHL game.