It's easy to dismiss Sidney Crosby's game-winning goal against the New York Rangers on Sunday as a fluke, given it went off his knee before finding the back of the net. But to do that would be to overlook the steps the Pittsburgh Penguins took to put themselves in the best possible situation during the overtime session.
Winners of four straight on the road and seven of nine upon arriving at Madison Square Garden, the Penguins are making a push to improve their positioning in the Metropolitan Division playoff picture, and the Rangers are the very team they're chasing.
With the game squared 2-2 entering overtime, and less than a minute remaining in the extra session, the contest appeared destined for a shootout - but the Penguins weren't prepared to let the festivities reach that point.
While the Rangers' star power lies in the crease, the Penguins boast top-heavy scoring talent. In the nine seasons since Crosby's rookie campaign, the Penguins outscored the Rangers all but once.
To give his elite scorers another crack at ending the game before the shootout, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan called timeout to get the trio of Crosby, Phil Kessel, and Kris Letang back on the ice.
"We were trying to get those guys on the ice one more time," Sullivan said. "We think they give us the best chance to win."
The game-winning sequence begins with a now rested Crosby winning a battle for the puck deep in the Rangers' zone and getting it back to Letang at the point for a shot from distance.
After Letang's shot deflects into the corner, it's recovered by Kessel. At that point, the Rangers are left scrambling, with Derek Stepan following Kessel toward the blue line, and Ryan McDonagh forced to push out to the point to cover Letang.
Crosby notices this, and immediately moves to the front of the net where he meets an overmatched Mats Zuccarello.
Upon spotting the mismatch in front of Henrik Lundqvist, Letang fires the puck toward the goal mouth, where it ricochets off Crosby into the back of the net to win the game for the Penguins.
"It was a good play by Tanger just to throw it in an area where I could tip it," Crosby said.
The goal gives Crosby points in 14 of his last 15 games, during which time he's tallied seven goals and 22 points.
(Images courtesy: NHL)
