Crosby scores No. 500, Penguins rally for OT win against Flyers

PITTSBURGH-- Sidney Crosby scored his 500th NHL goal, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied for a 5-4 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.

Crosby scored on a power play in the first period to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead. He joined Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (761) as the active NHL players to score 500.
"It's hard to put into words," Crosby said. "I think just being able to be part of some great teams over the years, play with some great players. It's a cool number. You look at the guys who have scored 500 goals, I think it's just a privilege to be part of that company."
Kris Letang scored 31 seconds into overtime, after Jake Guentzel and Chad Ruhwedel scored 18 seconds apart in the third period, and Casey DeSmith made 23 saves for the Penguins (31-11-8), who have won four in a row.
Scott Laughton had a goal and an assist, and Carter Hart made 29 saves for the Flyers (15-24-9), who have lost three straight.
"I thought the leadership, our veteran guys, it's easy to sit there and feel sorry for yourself," Philadelphia coach Mike Yeo said. "I think they're going out there and still fighting, still playing hard. Obviously, that's a very good team we're playing against tonight. I think we came out with the right attitude. We came out with the mindset that we want to take the fight to them."

Guentzel cut Philadelphia's lead to 4-3 at 12:36 of the third period when he tapped in a pass from Letang on a power play. Ruhwedel tied it 4-4 at 12:54 with a one-timer.
Letang stole the puck from Claude Giroux at the other end and looked toward Crosby on a 2-on-1 while scoring five-hole. He has scored 30 overtime points (eight goals, 22 assists) in the NHL and passed San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson (29; seven goals, 22 assists) for the most by a defenseman.
"Of course, you want that game, that memory to be a win." Letang said. "You don't want to remember [Crosby's] 500th goal in a loss, especially to a rival like this."
Giroux gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 13:47 of the first period on a snap shot from the slot.
Dominik Simon tied it 1-1 22 seconds later by tipping a shot from Marcus Pettersson.
Crosby gave Pittsburgh the lead at 16:34 with his 14th goal of the season, a one-timer from a sharp angle off a pass from Evgeni Malkin. Crosby is the second Penguins player to score 500 goals, joining Mario Lemieux (690), and the 46th NHL player to do so.
The goal was Crosby's 50th against the Flyers, his most against any team.
"It's been an incredible journey for me, to be the coach of the Penguins and, in particular, to coach Sid," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I've had the privilege of seeing a fair amount of milestones over this time here, with respect to Sid. I thought tonight might be the most special."
Laughton tied it 2-2 57 seconds into the second period on a wrist shot from the slot. He has scored eight points (four goals, four assists) on a six-game point streak.
"At the end of the day, if you don't win games, it doesn't really matter about the points," Laughton said. "We just have to figure out a way to find a way."

Nick Seeler gave Philadelphia a 3-2 lead at 10:43 with a one-timer from the point. Justin Braun made it 4-2 at 17:09 with a shot that went in off Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson.
Seeler hadn't scored in the NHL since Feb. 15, 2019, for the Minnesota Wild. It was his third goal in 135 NHL games.
"It's obviously really nice to get that first one," Seeler said. "I just saw [Travis Konecny] come up, a really nice pass by him. Just tried to find that soft area. Luckily, it went in."
NOTES: Crosby is the 18th player to score his first 500 goals with one team. ... Malkin's assist was his 109th on a Crosby goal, the most of any player. ... Flyers forward Gerry Mayhew did not play because of a swollen eye. Forward Jackson Cates played 4:05 after being recalled under emergency conditions from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League. ... Ruhwedel had two shots on goal and three hits playing 16:53 during his 200th game with the Penguins. ... Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (upper body) was placed on injured reserve. He missed a second straight game.