Crosby has goal, assist in Penguins win against Ducks

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist, and Matt Murray made 31 saves, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.

"We worked hard," Crosby said. "I don't think we gave up a whole lot. Just to a man, I think everyone competed really hard. We did the things we needed to do to find a way to win."
Jake Guentzel scored the game-deciding goal in the third period for the Penguins, who won two of four games during a season-opening homestand. He has five goals in five games against the Ducks.
WATCH: [All Ducks vs. Penguins highlights]
John Gibson made 26 saves for Anaheim (3-1-0), which was looking to start 4-0-0 for the first time in history. Gibson allowed more than one goal for the first time in four starts and has made 124 saves on 129 shots this season.
"We're not going to go 82-0," Gibson said. "We're not going to score five goals every night. ... Obviously you want to win every game, but it was a tough one. They played well. We have to give them credit. They're down a lot of guys and they played hard."

Pittsburgh was without four of its regular forwards. Evgeni Malkin (lower body), Nick Bjugstad (lower body) and Bryan Rust (upper body) are each out long term. Alex Galchenyuk was placed on injured reserve Wednesday with a lower-body injury.
Guentzel put the Penguins ahead 2-1 with his first goal of the season at 7:24 of the third period. Crosby retrieved a loose puck and used one hand to control it while holding off Josh Manson before backhanding a pass to Guentzel for a wrist shot.
Crosby has six points (two goals, four assists) during a four-game point streak to start the season. He gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead when he deflected a shot from Kris Letang over Gibson's glove on a power play at 2:57 of the second period.
"I thought [Crosby] was great," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's such an inspiration when he plays the game as hard as he does. As he does on most nights, I thought he was a force on both ends of the rink. His commitment to defending is just as hard as it is to creating offense for us.
"His line scores both goals. His line is on the ice when we're defending the lead when our opponent pulls the goalie. So that's just a testament to his overall 200-foot game."
Ondrej Kase tied it 1-1 30 seconds later when he snuck a wrist shot inside the left post for his first goal of the season at 3:27.
The Ducks did not score on three power plays and are 0-for-9 with the man advantage this season.
"We haven't scored any goals but we had a lot of looks and a lot of good opportunities to score," Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf said. "We just haven't scored. When your power play is getting frustrated, that's when it's time to worry. Right now, we're working hard. We're moving the puck around. We just have to put it in the net."

They said it

"Where we're at as a transitioning team, every one of our games has been tight so far. I don't expect that to change. We're going to have to learn how to, or keep learning, how to get out on top of these games. -- Ducks coach Dallas Eakins
"I'm just trying to get there. I knew [Crosby] had the guy wide so we've had a couple like that before where he goes to the slot. I was just lucky to be there at the right time." -- Penguins forward Jake Guentzel on his goal

Need to know

Getzlaf played his 988th game for the Ducks, tying Corey Perry for the most in their history. ... Anaheim took seven penalties, three in the first period and four in the second. ... Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist played after sustaining a lower-body injury in a 4-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. He left that game midway through the first period after taking a shot to the leg from Letang. ... Forward Andrew Agozzino played 1:44 on five shifts in his first game for the Penguins. He played 21 games for the Colorado Avalanche across three seasons since 2014. ... With his assist on Crosby's goal, Letang needs three points to reach 500 in the NHL. That would tie Syl Apps for ninth on Pittsburgh's all-time points list and make Letang the first Penguins defenseman to reach 500 points. He has four points (one goal, three assists) on a four-game point streak to start the season. ... The Penguins were held without a shot on a 5-on-3 that lasted 1:01 after Adam Henrique was called for high-sticking at 6:20 of the second.

What's next

Ducks: At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, FS-O, PRIME, NHL.TV)
Penguins: At the Minnesota Wild on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-N, FS-WI, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)