Crosby scores 599th goal, Penguins defeat Sharks in shootout to end slide

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby scored his 599th NHL goal, and the Pittsburgh Penguins recovered from blowing a three-goal lead to defeat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 in the shootout at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.

Bryan Rust and Jesse Puljujarvi also scored for the Penguins (7-10-3), who were outscored 16-5 in three straight losses (0-2-1) including 6-2 at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. Alex Nedeljkovic made 26 saves.

“We’ve been playing pretty good as of late, maybe haven’t gotten the results or bounces, tough calls here or there,” Nedeljkovic said. “We stuck with it. I think that’s been a big point of emphasis lately. Just staying with it.”

Tyler Toffoli scored twice, and Mikael Granlund also scored for the Sharks (5-10-4), who have lost three in a row (0-1-2). Vitek Vanecek missed the final two periods for an undisclosed reason after allowing two goals on 10 shots in the first. Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves in relief.

An update on Vanecek was not provided.

“It’s tough,” Blackwood said. “Obviously, you’re cold. You have no feel of the game. So you have to go in there and try to get into the game quick. Typically, I’ve struggled with that in the past. ... I’ve been working on it. Just trying to stay ready.”

Evgeni Malkin scored the deciding goal in the fifth round of the shootout for Pittsburgh; Crosby converted in the second, and Anthony Beauvillier scored in the fourth.

Granlund and William Eklund scored for San Jose, but Nedeljkovic turned away Alex Wennberg in the fifth.

Rust put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0 on the first shot on goal of the game at 1:01 of the first period, taking a pass from Michael Bunting behind the net before scoring on a backhanded wraparound at the right post.

“Just stick with it,” Rust said. “Obviously, we would have liked to have held that lead better and not go to a shootout. But overall, we dug in."

Malkin seemed to extend the lead at 5:46 with a backhand from the right face-off circle, but the goal was overturned when Bunting was ruled offside after a San Jose challenge.

Puljujarvi then made it 2-0 at 6:34, reaching back to collect a rebound off a shot from Drew O'Connor for a wrist shot low in the left circle.

Defenseman Owen Pickering, making his NHL debut, got a secondary assist for his first point. The 20-year-old was selected by Pittsburgh in the first round (No. 21) of the 2022 NHL Draft.

“We’re not satisfied with where we’re at,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “Performance matters. So we’re going to give guys an opportunity to play. If they can make an impact, they can help our team win, they’re going to play.”

Crosby extended the lead to 3-0 with his seventh goal of the season at 4:19 of the second period, ending a five-game goal drought on a slap shot through traffic from the right point.

The 37-year-old is on the verge of becoming the 21st player to score 600 and the second active player to do so, behind Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals (863). He can hit the milestone when the Penguins host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

“After tonight, I don’t feel like we’re that close, to be honest with you,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We’ve still got a way to go. Until every guy in there is believing in that, it’s going to be this up-and-down of a game that we’re going to see.”

Toffoli cut it to 3-1 on the power play at 12:05. Pittsburgh defenseman Ryan Shea intercepted a pass from Macklin Celebrini but tapped it to Will Smith, who found Toffoli for a backhand at an open right side of the net.

Granlund pulled San Jose within 3-2 at 6:56 of the third period on a snap shot just outside the crease off a cross-ice pass from Fabian Zetterlund that was tipped by Beauvillier.

Toffoli tied it 3-3 at 11:40 with his second of the game, scoring on a wrist shot from the left circle off a pass from Ty Dellandrea.

“It’s not ideal to be down in games, so we obviously don’t want to be doing that,” Toffoli said. “But I think for us and our team mentally, and all that, I guess [rallying is] a good thing. A good way to look at it.”

NOTES: Sharks defenseman Jake Walman had an assist and two blocked shots in 24:55 of ice time after missing the previous five games with an upper-body injury. ... San Jose forward Nico Sturm did not play after sustaining an upper-body injury in a 3-2 loss at the New York Rangers on Thursday. ... Penguins defenseman Kris Letang was out for a second straight game with an illness.