Penguins Head into the Holiday Break on a High Note

The Pittsburgh Penguins headed into the holiday break on a high note with a 7-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, improving to 9-3-1 in their last 13 games.

Sidney Crosby had a four-point night and Michael Bunting scored twice. Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Phil Tomasino, and Blake Lizotte also got in the goal column, while Tristan Jarry made 23 saves.

“We’re definitely excited about the break, but I think we’re all encouraged by the way we’re playing and want to keep going,” Crosby said. “So it’s good to get some momentum before the break and just continue to build off of that when we come back.”

The full recap is here. Read on for takeaways...

CROSBY TIES LEMIEUX

Sidney Crosby entered the night just three helpers from tying Mario Lemieux (1,033) for the most assists in Penguins history. In typical Sid fashion, he collected them all in the first period.

“I didn’t ever think I’d be close to that. I played a lot of games. He played a lot less than I did. So, that’s what happens when you play long enough,” Crosby said with a grin.

Crosby is entering increasingly elite company with every milestone he racks up, and it just feels extra special when he gets close to someone like Lemieux, considering their histories with the franchise.

Rust said that he feels Crosby is right there with Lemieux in terms of importance to the Penguins, and Mike Sullivan’s quote is so good, here it is in its entirety:

“I just think it’s one more piece of evidence to suggest that Sid is one of the very best players of all time, and we know Mario is as well. Their legacy just continues to grow. I think it's pretty cool that you have two generational players in an organization that had a little bit of crossover. But to have those two players play for your team in the city for almost three decades, what an incredible privilege to have two players like that, of that ilk, that played for the Pittsburgh Penguins. It's remarkable. I just think it's one more milestone to suggest that he is in an elite company. He's one of the very best players to ever play the game.”

TOP LINE CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP

Sullivan talked this morning about how the leadership has a lot to do with the Penguins responding the right way after tough games over this last stretch. And tonight, Crosby and his linemates were the driving force behind Pittsburgh’s best first period of the season following a shutout in New Jersey.

Crosby, Rust and Rakell have now combined for 21 goals and 53 points during the team’s run over the last three weeks. This trio has played together before since Rakell joined the Penguins at the trade deadline in 2022 and found success, but right now, they’re on another level.

Even though he recently had a rare slump in the goal column, at the end of the day, Crosby is Crosby. Rust continues to evolve his offensive game better than any player Sullivan has seen during all his years in the game. And Rakell is on an epic redemption tour following a difficult 2023-24 season from an injury and production standpoint, working extremely hard in the summer to put himself in a good position to start the year, and sustaining that high level of play game in and game out. Not to mention...

“We’re just burying our chances,” Crosby said. “Obviously, in the first we had a lot of momentum. I felt like we built off of that. Big goal from Rusty to get us going. And I think we’ve just been working hard and working off each other well. And the puck’s going in.”

That tally from Rust came less than 90 seconds into play. Since Nov. 27, no player in the league has more goals than Rust’s 10 tallies, and in that span, the winger has recorded 10 goals, nine assists and 19 points.

Then, after Rickard Rakell had a goal waved off for being offside, he got it back soon after to get him on the board in five straight games against the Flyers. He’s right behind Rust with nine goals in that same time frame, and on the season, Rakell leads the Penguins with 16 goals in 36 games.

“I mean, you can definitely see that (Rust) is very confident with the puck. It's kind of the same as me,” Rakell said. “We score on rebounds, and they’re not all pretty goals. There are a lot of second chances and second efforts, and we’re just taking turns being in front of the net.”

THIS TOO SHALL PASS

This was Michael Bunting’s first taste of the Penguins-Flyers rivalry, and you just felt like he would thrive in this type of game. He scored two big goals, one late in the first to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead, and one late in the second to give the Penguins a 5-3 lead.

That one was particularly important, as the Flyers had responded well after their struggles in the first. They outshot Pittsburgh 12-5 and spent a lot of time in the offensive zone.

"Yeah, well, I mean anytime you're up 4-1 after the first, you know they're going to push back,” Bunting said. “And obviously, we would like to be a little bit better on getting in front of that. But, they pushed back. They're a good team. They're very skilled, and I was fortunate enough to be able to get one there before the period ended and shift the momentum back to us. So, I thought the third period, we didn't give up much and we played our game."

It's pretty been well-documented how Bunting has turned his game around after what he’s called the toughest start of his NHL career, where he picked up just one point in the first 12 games. Tonight, Bunting reiterated how he tried to just take a breather, reset his mind and get back to what’s made him successful in this league: being abrasive, getting in on the forecheck, and going to work in and around the blue paint.

But Bunting also acknowledged how much some advice from teammate Kevin Hayes, a veteran in this league who brings personality and character to the dressing room, helped him deal with his struggles.

"He'll love this, he said this to me – ‘this, too, shall pass.' And, I've kind of just been rolling with that,” Bunting said. “He laughs every time. But yeah, Hayes said that to me and I actually turned it around right after that. So, he's taking credit for it. But yeah, no, I think it's just taking a step back and believing in myself, and that's what I've kind of been doing and hopefully, I can continue this and help this team continue to win."