Crosby makes history as Penguins edge Canadiens 4-3 in shootout

By Canadian Press on December 21, 2025.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby broke Mario Lemieux’s franchise scoring record and Rickard Rakell had the deciding goal in the shootout as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Sunday night to snap an eight-game losing streak.

Crosby, who began the night one point behind Lemieux, broke the mark in the first period with a goal and an assist and now has 645 goals and 1,079 assists for 1,724 points in 1,387 games. He also moved past Lemieux for the eighth-most points in NHL history.

Crosby, who has 20 goals this season, achieved his 18th 20-goal season. Only six players in NHL history have more.

Rakell had a goal and an assist in regulation and Noel Acciari also scored for the Penguins. Arturs Silovs had 23 saves for his first win since Nov. 6 against Washington.

Oliver Kapanen, Ivan Demidov and Noah Dobson scored for the Canadiens, who saw a brief two-game win streak end. Montreal is 4-1-2 since a 6-1 loss against Tampa Bay on Dec. 9. Jakub Dobes had 28 saves.

Kevin Hayes also scored for the Penguins in the shootout and Cole Caulfield tallied for the Canadiens. After Rakell gave Pittsburgh the lead in the third round, Silovs denied Nick Suzuki on Montreal’s last attempt.

AVALANCHE 5 , WILD 1

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, Cale Makar and Brock Nelson each had a goal and two assists, and Colorado beat Minnesota.

Martin Necas also scored and Gabriel Landeskog had two assists for Colorado, winners of five straight. Mackenzie Blackwood made 28 saves.

The Avalanche have tied the 2022-23 Bruins for the second-most points (59) after 35 games in league history. The 1929-30 Bruins had 61 points.

Ryan Hartman scored and Jesper Wallstedt made 37 saves for Minnesota, which lost for the first time in eight games, and first time in regulation in 15 home games dating to Nov. 1.

MacKinnon scored on a second-period power play, blasting a Nelson feed past Wallstedt to make it 2-0. He added an empty-net goal for his league-high 30th goal and eighth in eight games.

The tallies give MacKinnon 61 points in 35 games, tying Peter Stastny (1981-82 and 1987-88) and Marian Stastny (1982-83) for the fewest games to 60 points in Avalanche/Nordiques history.

OILERS 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Connor McDavid opened the scoring midway through the first period and set up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ two power-play goals in Edmonton’s victory over Vegas.

Connor Ingram stopped 26 shots in his Edmonton debut and first NHL game of the season. Ingram played for Utah last season before entering the NHL/NHLPA Players Assistance Program in March. He has been with Edmonton’s AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, where he was 4-5-2 with a 4.04 GAA and .856 save percentage.

Zach Hyman also scored and had an assist as Edmonton — coming off a 5-2 loss in Minnesota on Saturday — raced to a 4-0 lead in the second period against goalie Carter Hart. Leon Draisaitl had two assists.

The Oilers have won three of four to improve to 18-13-6. They are 15-1-3 when scoring first.

Tomas Hertl got one back for Vegas on a power play in the second, then assisted on goals by Mitch Marner and Pavel Dorofeyev in the third, with Marner also striking with a man advantage.

Hart made 17 saves.

RED WINGS 3, CAPITALS 2, OT

DETROIT (AP) — Moritz Seider scored at 4:36 of overtime and Detroit beat Washington to sweep a home-and-home series.

Detroit won 5-2 in Washington on Saturday. The Red Wings have won seven of their last nine.

After the Capitals killed a penalty early in overtime, Seider ripped a slap shot past Charlie Lindgren late in the extra session.

John Leonard and Lucas Raymond also scored for the Red Wings, and Cam Talbot made 31 saves.

Ethen Frank scored twice for Washington, and Charlie Lindgren stopped 24 shots. The Capitals lost for the fifth time in six games.

Frank opened the scoring with 5:43 left in the first, beating defenseman Albert Johansson down the right wing, then cutting inside to slide the puck through Talbot’s legs.

Detroit tied it at 8:37 of the second on Raymond’s power-play goal. The Red Wings took a 2-1 lead with 6:14 left in the period when Alex DeBrincat flipped the puck at the net, and it deflected off Leonard’s leg and past Lindgren. DeBrincat had an assist for his 550th NHL point.

Frank tied it at 9:38 of the third, scoring his 10th NHL goal with a shot through traffic.

SENATORS 6, BRUINS 2

BOSTON (AP) — Fabian Zetterlund scored two goals, Tim Stutzle and Dylan Cozens scored 19 seconds apart in the second period and Ottawa beat Boston for their fourth straight victory.

Drake Batherson and Claude Giroux each had a goal in the first when the Senators opened a quick 3-0 edge. Batherson and Cozens each had two assists and former Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark made 17 saves in a game that ended with a few late scraps.

Bruins starting goaltender Joonas Korpisalo was pulled after giving up five goals on 17 shots. Jeremy Swayman replaced him and finished with 10 saves. It was Boston’s second loss at home in two days after falling in a shootout against Vancouver.

David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy scored for the Bruins.

SABRES 3, DEVILS 1

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Josh Norris and Zach Benson scored in the second period and Buffalo beat New Jersey for their sixth straight win.

Peyton Krebs also scored and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 17 saves to help Buffalo get its eighth win in 11 games.

Jack Hughes scored for New Jersey in his first game back after hand surgery. Jake Allen had 19 saves as the Devils snapped a two-game win streak.

Hughes, skating on a line with Dawson Mercer and rookie Arseny Gritsyuk, opened the scoring at 8:51 of the first, beating Luukkonen for his 11th goal and sparking loud cheers at Prudential Center.

Hughes missed New Jersey’s previous 18 games after injuring his hand following New Jersey’s 4-3 overtime win at Chicago on Nov. 12. The 24-year-old center led the Devils in scoring at that time. He has 21 points overall this season. New Jersey lost 10 of 18 games in his absence.

Norris tied it at 2:26 of the second with his fourth goal, and Benson gave the Sabres the lead at 16:05 of the middle period as he beat Allen for his third

PREDATORS 2, RANGERS 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Filip Forsberg and Steven Stamkos scored, Justus Annunen made 16 saves and Nashville beat the New York.

Ryan O’Reilly had two assists to help Nashville win its second straight and third in four games.

Stamkos had an empty-net goal before Jonny Brozinski spoiled Annune’s shutout bid with 35.9 left.

Jonathan Quick made 30 saves for the Rangers. They had won two in a row.

Forsberg opened the scoring midway through the second period. O’Reilly carried the puck into the New York zone and left a pass for Forsberg on the right side, where he snapped a wrist shot over Quick’s left shoulder for his 16th of the season. The goal extended points streaks for both Forsberg and O’Reilly, with Forsberg reaching eight games and O’Reilly seven.

STARS 5, MAPLE LEAFS 1

DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson scored his first goal in 10 career games against Toronto, the last team he had not scored against, and Jake Oettinger made 27 saves for his 16th win as Dallas beat Toronto.

Sam Steel’s score early in the third period was the winning goal for the Stars, who have won four consecutive games. Jamie Benn, Mavrik Bourque and Justin Hryckowian also scored for Dallas.

Scott Laughton scored for the Leafs, who head home following an 0-3-0 road trip, the last two losses in back-to-back games.

Robertson gave Dallas a 1-0 lead late in the first period with his 23rd goal, tied for third in the league.

Oettinger is tied for the most goaltender wins in the NHL and earned his first assist this season on Bourque’s empty-net goal.

Dennis Hildeby stopped 16 shots for the Leafs, with No. 1 goalie Joseph Woll playing Saturday night in the 5-3 loss at Nashville.

MAMMOTH 4, JETS 3, OT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Clayton Keller scored 13 seconds into overtime and the Utah Mammoth beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 on Sunday.

Lawson Crouse, JJ Peterka and Alexander Kerfoot also scored for Utah, and Karel Vejmelka stopped 22 shots. The Mammoth won for the second time in three games.

Kyle Connor had two goals and Morgan Barron also scored for Winnipeg, which lost its fourth straight (0-2-2) and has just three wins in their last 16 games (3-10-3). Connor Hellebuyck had 18 saves.

Keller’s blast down the middle in overtime helped the Mammoth win after allowing two late third-period goals.

Crouse got the Mammoth on the board at 5:20 of the first after slapping the puck over Hellebuyck’s shoulder. Peterka’s 14th goal of the season extended Utah’s lead at 9:31 when he tipped in the puck off Keller’s pass into the post.

Kerfoot put the Mammoth up 3-0 at 3:01 of the second on a one-timer past Hellebuyck’s outstretched glove. It was his first of the season in just his second game back on the ice after missing Utah’s first 35 games with an injury.

The Associated Press

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