Crosby has three points, Penguins score six in win against Coyotes

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby began his 18th NHL season with a goal and two assists, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Arizona Coyotes 6-2 in the season opener for each team at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.

The 35-year-old's 18 seasons are the most in Penguins history, passing Mario Lemieux's 17. Evgeni Malkin, 36, and Kris Letang, 35, opened their 17th season with Pittsburgh.
"Most of these guys have been together for a while now," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "There's a lot of familiarity on the lines ... I just think the fact we have some stability and continuity in our group helps from a chemistry standpoint. There's a lot of familiarity."

Malkin scored and Letang had two assists for the Penguins, who have won nine straight against the Coyotes. Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust each had a goal and an assist, and Tristan Jarry made 26 saves.
Nick Ritchie scored twice on the power play, and Karel Vejmelka made 47 saves for Arizona.
"We weren't mentally engaged enough," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. "We got better during the game, never quit, came back and worked hard. But need to find a way to get out of the gate with more urgency mentally. … We need to be way more stingy defensively. [Vejmelka] was unbelievable tonight. So we need to work on our identity."
Pittsburgh scored on three of its first seven shots and outshot Arizona 16-4 in the first.
Crosby gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead 1:22 into the first period. Guentzel beat J.J. Moser to a puck in the near corner before sending a no-look backhand pass to the slot for a wrist shot from Crosby.
It was the first time Crosby has scored Pittsburgh's first goal of a season.
"I think we were just playing on our toes. First game of the year, at home," Crosby said. "I think guys were excited to get going and you could tell we had a lot of jump."
Jason Zucker made it 2-0, scoring on a one-timer from just above the left face-off circle at 4:12.
Guentzel extended the lead to 3-0 seven seconds into a power play. Rust drove to the net, producing a rebound Guentzel collected to the right of the net at 5:10.

The Penguins were the second team in the NHL's modern era (since 1943-44) to score three goals in the first 5:10 of a season opener. The Los Angeles Kings scored three in the first 4:18 on Oct. 5, 2005.
Ritchie cut it to 3-1 with a power-play goal at 16:10 of the second period, shooting off the left post and in from the slot.
"They get the crowd going, the towels are flying. It's definitely not the right team to spot them three," Ritchie said. "But we came back and had a decent effort. It wasn't great, by any means, but we fought back a little bit. I guess we'll take something from it."
Malkin pushed the lead to 4-1 at 19:11 with a backhand from the slot off a rebound from Crosby on a power play.
Ritchie scored on another power play to cut it to 4-2, going backhand to forehand around Jarry at 4:46 of the third period.
Rust made it 5-2 during a scrum at 15:01 before Kasperi Kapanen scored off a pass from Danton Heinen with 2:23 left for the 6-2 final.
NOTES: Crosby is three seasons behind Willie Stargell, who played 21 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, for the most in the history of Pittsburgh professional sports. His 16 seasons as captain of one NHL team are tied for second (Joe Sakic, 16 with the Colorado Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques). Crosby trails Steve Yzerman's 19 seasons as captain of the Detroit Red Wings. … Crosby's 17 seasons with Malkin and Letang are tied for the most all-time of any three teammates in the history of major North American professional sports. Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera played 17 for the New York Yankees. … Coyotes forward Nick Schmaltz left with an upper-body injury after playing 2:26 in the first period. Tourigny did not have an update other than Schmaltz would not play at the Boston Bruins on Saturday. … Arizona defenseman Juuso Valimaki did not play because of visa issues. … Crosby has 1,412 points (518 goals, 894 assists) in 1,109 NHL games, passing Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (1,410 points; 780 goals, 630 assists in 1,276 games) for the most among active players.