Sidney Crosby continues his tour de force to revive the Pittsburgh Penguins season.

The Pittsburgh Penguins entered Thursday night's game with something to prove. They had lost five straight games to the Carolina Hurricanes, dating back to March 2022.

Early in this game, it was evident that the Penguins' were focused on stifling the Hurricanes' potent offensive attack. Forwards were shading back all night to prevent Carolina from creating sustained offensive zone time.

Goal Recap

(PIT 1-0) Sidney Crosby (19): Rickard Rakell (5) & Jake Guentzel (21)

(TIE 1-1) Teuvo Teravainen (12): Jack Drury (8) & Jacob Slavin (15)

Shootout Winner: (PIT) Sidney Crosby

Three Stars

3. Penguins Third Pairing

On a night where almost every Penguins player was outshot and out-chanced, the third pairing held their own. Chad Ruhwedel and John Ludvig played their second game together, registering just over eight minutes of ice time.

While they didn't see much ice time, Ruhwedel and Ludvig held strong when they got their chance. That duo finished with 58% of the shot attempts and 69% of the expected goals on the ice at 5v5.

2. Alex Nedeljkovic

Nedeljkovic continues to be a diamond in the rough signing for the Penguins. Coming off two tough years in Detroit, the netminder has proven to be a valuable piece for the Penguins, winning back-to-back games for the Penguins.

He stopped 23 of 24 shots through regulation and overtime. The only goal against him was a harmless Teuvo Teravainen shot that deflected off Kris Letang and into the Penguins net. Nedeljkovic slammed the door in the shootout, stopping all three shooters, including a glove save to clinch the victory on Teravainen.

1. Sidney Crosby

This game was a Sidney Crosby game through and through. Crosby had an extra jump in his game early on and capitalized on it by scoring the first goal nine minutes into the game.

Crosby finished with four shots on goal (a game-high) and even hit the crossbar in the waning seconds of overtime. His offensive production matched his defensive performance, setting the tone for the Penguins by backchecking hard to shut down multiple Hurricanes rush attempts in the opening frame.

The Penguins captain capped off the evening by scoring the shootout winner.

Pittsburgh plays one more game before the Christmas break on Saturday against the Ottawa Senators.

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