The Pittsburgh Penguins needed a win in the worst way. Having lost their six previous outings, they snapped their skid thanks to Sidney Crosby's two goals in a 2-1 overtime victory [https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/ana-vs-pit/2024/10/31/2024020163/summary]. Meanwhile, Alex Nedeljkovic picked up his first win of the season, and the Penguins captain inched closer to 600 goals. For the Anaheim Ducks, no one can fault Lukas Dostal for his performance, turning away 44 of 46 shots in the defeat. For the first time in almost two weeks, there's a victory to discuss in the takeaways, so let's get started. O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN! For the first time this season, Crosby had a presence for 60 minutes, giving Pittsburgh life in a game they dominated but trailed on the scoreboard. Besides being one of three skaters, along with Rickard Rakell and Evgeni Malkin, with six shots, Crosby was buzzing all night and skated the second most shifts (27) behind Kris Letang (28). Unfortunately, many questions have been raised about Crosby's "slow" start despite his 12 points, which make him the team's second-best scorer. It's true; he's been unnoticeable through 12 games but needed a performance like Thursday to hopefully jump-start a hot streak that saves the Penguins' season. Without their captain saving the game tonight, there's no telling where the Penguins would be on Friday if they suffered a seventh consecutive loss. NEDELJKOVIC DESERVES THE NEXT START Head coach Mike Sullivan has been rotating goalies lately, including giving Nedeljkovic the start [https://x.com/penguins/status/1852013708752322970] on Thursday after sitting out the Tuesday night contest against the Minnesota Wild. After a brilliant performance, which included 22 saves, Nedeljkovic picked up his first win of the season and provided the Penguins with one of their best games by a goalie thus far. Ultimately, Nedeljkovic proved that he deserves the next start on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens and should remain in the net until he has another clunker. Finding steady goaltending regularly is something no one has had a chance to achieve through 12 games. IT'S A WIN, BUT IT WASN'T ALL PRETTY Let's call a spade a spade when we see it. The Penguins won Thursday night in overtime, snatching two points from the jaws of defeat at the last minute. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQY1cqNoGVk[/embed] Pittsburgh dominated the game from the opening faceoff, outshooting the visitors by an 18-7 margin after one and 29-16 after two. Watching the Ducks bend without breaking until Crosby tipped home a goal 1:47 into the third period was unbelievable. Even though Anaheim had no business staying in a 1-1 game, they never allowed the Penguins to get the upper hand and dragged them to overtime, where Crosby came through for the second time. The Ducks are in a rebuilding phase and are not contenders, yet they managed to keep the Penguins at bay while giving up 46 shots, the second-most all season. Luckily, Pittsburgh gutted out the win, and Nedeljkovic made some big saves, but next time against a stronger opponent, the Penguins might not be so lucky. So celebrate the small victories when they happen. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Penguins & Ducks Trivia Answers How did you score in our Game Day Trivia [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/penguins-ducks-game-day-trivia] quiz? Here are the answers. 1. undefined 2. undefined 3. undefined 4. undefined 5. undefined 6. undefined 7. undefined 8. undefined 9. undefined 10. undefined Bookmark THN's Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/] site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and more. WA-EDM-McDavidInjury
