Crosby has 2 assists, Penguins defeat Canucks in OT

VANCOUVER -- Sidney Crosby had two assists, including his 1,000th even-strength point, for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 4-3 overtime win against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Tuesday.

Crosby became the ninth player in NHL history to get 1,000 even-strength points (408 goals, 592 assists). He is also the fourth fastest to reach the mark (1,246 games), behind only Wayne Gretzky (608 games), Marcel Dionne (1,143) and Jaromir Jagr (1,165).

“He's had a remarkable career and he's shown zero signs of slowing down,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He's the heartbeat of our team, and he's playing an inspiring game for us, so when he reaches these milestones, it doesn't surprise us because there's a lot of them, but it speaks volumes for how consistently well he's played for so long. To be able to sustain such an elite level of play for so long, I can't think of too many guys that have been able to do it like he has. It just speaks to his talent, it speaks to his drive, his passion for the game. I have run out of superlatives.”

Erik Karlsson scored the winner on a rebound at 1:42 of overtime after goaltender Thatcher Demko made a cross-crease save on Lars Eller.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I missed that and we didn’t score, but luckily, we found a way,” Eller said. “We were behind, but there's still belief and no quit in guys and we just claw our way back in, even when things weren't looking good during the game, and that's huge for the morale and belief as a team. We just kept clawing, and I think we got better as the game went on, and [a] huge two points against a very good team.”

Rickard Rakell scored twice, and Tristan Jarry made 32 saves for the Penguins (27-21-8), who extended their point streak to four games (3-0-1).

“I just thought we had a certain resilience about us all night long,” Sullivan said. “We got down a couple of goals and we just stayed with it, just kept competing, and I think we're capable of coming back in games and tonight was evidence against a really good team. … I was real proud of them tonight.”

J.T. Miller had a goal and an assist, and Demko made 35 saves for the Canucks (38-16-7), who are 1-4-1 in their past six games.

“Some guys looked tired out there. ... I thought there were a lot of average guys out there,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “We’re hanging in there, but we need some individuals to up their game. Some guys are just OK. … Hopefully we get some guys legs back and their brains back because we’ve been sloppy.”

Nils Hoglander put Vancouver ahead 1-0 at 10:23 of the first period on a rebound from inside the right face-off circle.

Brock Boeser made it 2-0 on a power play at 17:43, taking a one-touch pass from Miller above the right hash marks for a quick wrist shot that deflected off the leg of Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson and over the glove of Jarry.

Rakell pulled the Penguins to within 2-1 at 2:13 of the second period, deking around Demko after Vancouver turned the puck over to Crosby in the high slot.

Rakell tied it 2-2 at 9:36 with a backdoor tap-in off a pass from Crosby during a 5-on-3 power play.

“I thought every line was fighting really hard today and just tried to do anything to get back in this game,” Rakell said. “Tonight was a real team effort.”

Miller responded 29 seconds later for Vancouver to make it 3-2, scoring his 30th of the season on a short-handed breakaway.

“Had a pretty good first period and then just proceeded to turn the puck over and get loose,” said Miller, who has 11 points (six goals, five assists) on a five-game point streak. “If we had the mentality of winning the game, we could have [put them away] in the second period, and instead we let them back in the game and we only got a point today. It’s frustrating.”

Eller tied it 3-3 at 9:45 of the third period with a wrist shot through a Drew O’Connor screen while skating down the slot.

“I got it at the right spot at the right time, and I had a good screen in front and I kind of saw that blocker side was open, and I had time to pick it,” Eller said.

NOTES: Crosby has seven points (one goal, six assists) during a three-game point streak. ... Karlsson scored his 10th career overtime goal. He is the fifth defenseman in NHL history with at least that many, joining Brent Burns (16), Scott Niedermayer (13), Seth Jones (11) and Kris Letang (11). Karlsson has six points (one goal, five assists) on a five-game point streak. ... Hoglander played his 200th NHL game. … Demko recorded his first assist of the season on Miller’s short-handed goal after clearing the puck around the boards from behind his net. … Miller became the fourth player in Canucks history to record three consecutive 80-point seasons.