Crosby, who has nine points (five goals, four assists) during a five-game point streak, is also two points away from becoming the ninth player in NHL history to reach 1,700. He has five goals during his goal streak.
“So many stats, I don’t really think about that,” said Crosby, the Pittsburgh captain. “It is great to be in that company and this is a big two points [against] a tough team. [Tristan] Jarry bailed us out a lot. They carried the fight in the second half of that game.”
Rickard Rakell had a goal and an assist, and Erik Karlsson and Evgeni Malkin each had two assists for the Penguins (6-2-0). Tristan Jarry made 34 saves, including 16 in the third period.
“We want to be seeing contributions from throughout the lineup and we have seen that in a lot of games,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said.
Brad Marchand scored twice, and Mackie Samoskevich and Seth Jones each had two assists for the Panthers (4-5-0), who have lost five of six. Sergei Bobrovsky made 11 saves.
“They capitalized on their opportunities,” Marchand said. “After the first period on, we really controlled that game. But every time we pushed, they made a play. When you have the caliber of players they do, some of the best ever to play this game, that’s what they do. They show up in those moments.”
Crosby gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead on the power play at 6:26 of the first period, scoring on a one-timer from the left face-off dot off Bryan Rust’s pass from behind the net.