PITTSBURGH — Defensively structured. Patient. And Sidney Crosby .
The Pittsburgh Penguins limited the mistakes that have made them the worst defensive team in the NHL. They got a pair of goals from an all-time great and took advantage of an opponent on the ropes to beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 at PPG Paints Arena. Crosby has scored four consecutive Penguins goals over two games, including Thursday’s win over Anaheim.
Crosby, who had five points in his last two games, was the lone goal-scorer in a surprisingly dull first period. Seconds after Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic made a sparkling kick save on Juraj Slafkovski , the Penguins capitalized on a Montreal turnover by defenseman Mike Matheson. Rickard Rakell slid a cross-ice pass to Crosby (4), who sniped a wrister from the right circle past goalie Sam Montembeault at 15:57.
Both coaches were likely pleased with their defensive efforts in the first period. According to NaturalStatTrick.com , the Penguins and Canadiens rank last (32nd) and next-to-last (31st), respectively, in giving up high-danger scoring chances.
In fact, Montreal had a “no puck” practice the day before after getting smoked by Seattle 8-2 on Tuesday and then Washington 6-3 on Thursday. “No puck” is code for a good old-fashioned bag skate. The shots were merely 2-2 after the first 12 minutes of the game and were 5-5 after the first 20 minutes.
And the defensive structures and cautious play by both teams continued through most of the second .
