Sidney Crosby scores twice as Penguins top Ducks in overtime, end 6-game losing streak

PITTSBURGH — For much of the evening, the small smattering of fans who chose PPG Paints Arena as the venue for their Halloween festivities were dealt their lion’s share of tricks.

The Penguins thrice squandered power-play opportunities on Thursday evening, and struggled mightily to break through against the Ducks and their netminder Lukas Dostal. But with one improbable deflection, Sidney Crosby drew the Penguins back even, allowing them to ultimately claw back for a much-needed 2-1 win in overtime.

Crosby also netted the game-winner in the extra period, in the process tripling his goal total on the season.

If not for the victory, the Penguins would have lost their seventh straight game, which would have matched the longest losing skid of coach Mike Sullivan’s tenure in Pittsburgh.

While the Penguins carried play most of the first period on Thursday, and specifically the top line that again featured both Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, they trailed entering the opening intermission. Anaheim’s Alex Killorn slid down the slot and Trevor Zegras found him for as easy a goal as any.

After the Ducks drew blood, the Penguins twice had power-play chances to equalize the count, but fumbled away each of those chances, and brought out boo birds in the process. While the power play this season has been much improved after being one of the league’s worst units a year ago, it hardly demonstrated any marked progress in this contest.

Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, meanwhile, made his fourth start of the season and was at his sharpest since missing the start of the year due to injury. His efforts paled in comparison, however, to those of Anaheim netminder Dostal, who hadn’t yielded more than two goals in each of his previous four starts.

The Penguins finally broke through against Dostal in the third period, as Crosby’s deflection from an improbable angle equaled the count. The goal was Crosby’s second of the season, and first since before the Western Canada road trip.

Instead of the Penguins’ season-opening struggles hitting a new low, the seemingly never-ending losing streak finally came to a halt on the eve of a new, and desperately needed month. Crosby, who for much of October didn’t resemble his typically stellar self, certainly did in victory.

Ice chips

— Forward Blake Lizotte was activated from injured reserve and made his season debut. He centered the fourth line, forcing Kevin Hayes to move back to the wing. Hayes centered the fourth line during Tuesday’s loss.

— Forwards Valtteri Puustinen and Noel Acciari swapped spots in the lineup. Puustinen was elevated to the second line while Acciari dropped down to the third unit.

— Forward Jesse Puljujarvi and defenseman Ryan Shea were the two healthy scratches.

— Forward Vasily Ponomarev was activated from injured reserve on Thursday morning and assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

— The Penguins went 2 for 2 on the penalty kill.

Stat n’at

8 — Points for Crosby at home this season. The captain has four points in seven road games.

Coming up

The Penguins are scheduled to practice Friday afternoon in Cranberry. Their three-game homestand will conclude Saturday night when the Montreal Canadiens visit PPG Paints Arena.