The Penguins got a big boost on their recent homestand with game swing this evening against the Montreal Canadiens.
Crosby had been sidelined since January due to post-concussion symptoms before returning on Monday at the start of a three-game residency. He logged a pair of goals and two assists in his first game, a 5-0 victory, but was then held off the scoresheet in a 3-2 overtime setback to the Blues.
The 24-year-old finished off Pittsburgh's homestand with a three-assist effort on Friday in a 6-3 win over the Senators. Tyler Kennedy had a goal and set up two others, while Evgeni Malkin scored and had an assist.
Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 24 saves, while Chris Kunitz, Steve Sullivan, Pascal Dupuis and Jordan Staal all added goals.
"I think we tried to keep it pretty simple. Last game, we made a lot of mistakes in the neutral zone," said Crosby, referring to the overtime loss to the Blues on Wednesday. "I think tonight we did a better job of getting the puck in deep and going to work.
"Speed's our game."
With Crosby back in action, the Penguins will look to halt a three-game slide on the road. They are 5-5-2 as the visiting team this season.
Montreal has alternated wins and losses over its last eight games and is coming off yesterday's 3-1 setback in Philadelphia. Petteri Nokelainen scored his first goal of the season and Carey Price made 33 saves.
The Canadiens, who were coming off a shootout win over Carolina, killed off all four of the Flyers' power-play chances, but went 0-for-5 on the man advantage themselves.
"We're going to have to find solutions. We need to be turning our chances on the power play into goals," said Josh Gorges on Montreal's website. "I'm not trying to be critical of the guys on the ice when we have the man-advantage either. We just need to find a way to score those goals."
The Canadiens won three of four over the Penguins last year, but dropped a 3-1 decision in Pittsburgh on Oct. 20.
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