Crosby paces Penguins to 5-1 win over Panthers
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) Sidney Crosby got his 18th goal and added an assist to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins over the Florida Panthers 5-1 on Thursday night.
Conor Sheary, Tom Kuhnhackl, Matt Cullen and Carl Hagelin also scored for Pittsburgh. Matt Murray made 28 saves.
The Penguins have won four straight and five of their past six.
Jaromir Jagr scored his 755th career goal, and Roberto Luongo stopped 25 shots for the Panthers. Luongo allowed three goals on Pittsburgh's first five shots.
Panthers coach Tom Rowe, who replaced Gerard Gallant on Nov. 28, made his home debut. The Panthers have lost five of six under Rowe, but managed a point in three of those losses.
Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead on Crosby's goal 3:06 in. Crosby snapped a wrist shot from above the right circle that got through several Florida defenders and past Luongo.
The Penguins extended their lead to 2-0 on Sheary's. The initial shot by Sheary missed the net, but the puck came off the end boards and into the crease and was inadvertently kicked across the goal line by Luongo at 4:51.
Pittsburgh stretched the score to 3-0 when Scott Wilson's shot from the right circle deflected off Kuhnhackl and into the net at 7:34. The Panthers unsuccessfully challenged the goal, claiming Kuhnhackl interfered with Luongo.
The Panthers closed to 3-1 on Jagr's power-play goal. Aleksander Barkov passed from below the right circle to Jagr in the slot, and his one-timer beat Murray at 6:17 of the second.
Cullen gave the Penguins a 4-1 lead at 5:48 of the third when he grabbed a rebound in front and put the puck between the pads of Luongo.
Hagelin added an empty-net goal with 32.9 seconds left to make the score 5-1.
Notes: The Penguins have gone 6-0-2 in their past eight games against the Panthers. ... The Penguins sent LW Jake Guentzel and D Derrick Pouliot to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. ... Jagr has 1,882 points, putting him six behind Mark Messier for second place on the career list. ... Panthers C Jonathan Marchessault missed his third game with a lower-body injury. ... Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield attended the game.
UP NEXT:
Penguins: Visit Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.
Panthers: Host Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.
