MONTREAL – Sidney Crosby scored a power-play goal 3:41 into overtime, lifting the Pittsburgh Penguins over the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Saturday night.
Evgeni Malkin also scored for the Penguins, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves.
Max Pacioretty scored the lone goal for the Canadiens, who have lost two consecutive games after winning nine of their previous 10. Carey Price stopped 35 shots.
Crosby beat Price with a one-timer, while the Penguins played with the man-advantage. It was only the second power-play goal for the Penguins in their past 23 opportunities.
This was the second meeting between the teams in a week. Last Saturday, Montreal scored two early goals and Price added 30 saves en route to a 4-1 road victory. That win temporarily propelled the Canadiens to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
In Saturday's rematch, Pacioretty put the Canadiens on the board with a rare first-period goal. The 26-year-old scored his team-leading 18th of the season at 18:10 after capitalizing on a Penguins giveaway.
Pacioretty intercepted a sloppy pass by Crosby in his own zone and skated the length of the ice. With defenseman Robert Bortuzzo between him and Fleury, Pacioretty sent a wrister in the roof of the goal on the short side.
The sharpshooting left wing has scored four goals in his last four games. Pacioretty is particularly dangerous against the Pens, having now scored nine goals in 20 games facing Pittsburgh.
Montreal forward Christian Thomas, recalled from the Hamilton Bulldogs on Thursday, played on the fourth line with former Bulldogs teammates Sven Andrighetto and Michael Bournival.
Thomas and his linemates had a solid first period bolstered by their relentless forecheck. Bournival drew a penalty midway through the frame, and Thomas took a big slap shot on Fleury a few minutes later.
That young fourth line was caught on the ice when Malkin beat Price to tie the game at 18:28 of the second period. Malkin fired a slap shot from the blue line and the puck found its way through several bodies for his fifth point in four games. Beau Bennett and Alexei Emelin were blocking Price's view of the shot.
Pacioretty came inches from giving the Canadiens the victory late in the third period, but his shot found the side netting instead of the gaping hole with three minutes on the clock.
NOTES: Before the puck drop, the Canadiens played the French national anthem to honor victims of recent terror attacks in Paris. ... Price was the only Canadiens player selected for the All-Star Game, which will be played Jan. 25 in Columbus, Ohio. ... Montreal's P.A. Parenteau (upper-body injury) has now missed three straight games. Manny Malhotra was a healthy scratch.
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