Conor Sheary lifts Penguins past Oilers

PITTSBURGH -- In a highly-anticipated game featuring Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, a different Conor stole the show.
Conor Sheary scored his second goal of the game with 1:42 remaining to help the Penguins defeat the Oilers 4-3 at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.
Sheary poked a shot past goalie Cam Talbot (27 saves) for what proved to be the game-winner. His first goal gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead 1:57 into the game before the Oilers responded with three goals.

WATCH: All Oilers vs. Penguins highlights
"I don't think too many people were watching that [the matchup between Crosby and McDavid]," Sheary said. "It was a good effort from everybody tonight. It was a good comeback win and an important two points. … Even at 3-1, I thought we were playing well. We were getting our chances. They were just kind of capitalizing on theirs."

Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin made it 3-3 at 5:33 of the third period when he tipped a pass from Phil Kessel past Talbot for his seventh goal of the season.
In his first game against Crosby, McDavid's first two of three assists highlighted a first period that ended with Edmonton holding a 2-1 lead.
After Sheary's first goal, Edmonton answered when McDavid found Jordan Eberle on a 2-on-1. Eberle sent a wrist shot over Penguins goalie Matt Murray for his first of two goals with 5:37 remaining in the first.

McDavid factored on the Oilers' second goal 2:55 later after forcing a turnover and carrying the puck into the Penguins zone. He sent a pass through the crease to forward Pat Maroon, who tipped it past Murray to make it 2-1 with 2:42 left in the first.
Eberle scored again to give the Oilers a 3-1 lead 3:20 into the second period. McDavid fed Eberle before he wrapped a shot around Murray's right pad.
"It's a hard way to lose," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "I thought we got tremendous performances out of a number of individuals and some disappointing performances from a few others."
Penguins forward Carl Hagelin made it 3-2 with 7:52 remaining in the second period when he flicked a shot over Talbot's left pad for his second goal of the season.
Murray made 25 saves.

Goal of the game

Malkin tied the score 3-3 after Kessel passed through traffic. As Malkin turned away from Edmonton's net, he reached his stick back to deflect the pass beyond Talbot with Oilers forward Tyler Pitlick diving in an attempt to clear the puck 5:33 into the third period.

Save of the game

Before Eberle scored his first goal, he had a chance to tie it 1-1 sooner than he did. He worked against Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin in front of the crease and backhanded a shot toward the upper-right corner of the net, but Murray shrugged off the shot with a shoulder save with 8:01 remaining in the first period.

Highlight of the game

McDavid helped give the Oilers a 2-1 lead with his second assist late in the first period after stripping Penguins forward Carl Hagelin in his own zone. McDavid turned up ice and beat Dumoulin along the far wall to the net-front, where he backhanded a pass through defenseman Kris Letang. Maroon deflected the pass into the net with 2:42 remaining in the period.

Unsung moment of the game

Sullivan chose to match Crosby against McDavid through the first period and into the second. After Edmonton took a 3-1 lead early in the second period, Sullivan temporarily chose to play Malkin's line against McDavid and mostly turned away from the Crosby-McDavid matchup through the rest of the game.

They said it

"I can bounce [Sheary] around on any line. He's a good two-way player, but he has great offensive instincts. He can play the left wing. He can play the right wing. He's a good player." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
"[McDavid's] speed, he doesn't need a lot of time and space. It's one thing to kind of watch games and see it, but out there you can really tell he needs no time and space at all." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
"It was pretty funny that I take the opening draw against him and have him snap it back. I don't even think I got my stick on it. So, definitely a funny way to start it, but it definitely was a cool experience." -- Oilers captain Connor McDavid on taking the opening faceoff against Crosby

Need to know

Murray started for the first time at home. He had allowed one goal on 65 shots in his first two starts entering Tuesday since recovering from a broken hand. … Oilers forward Jesse Puljujarvi played 12:32 after missing Edmonton's 2-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday because of a charley horse.

What's next

Oilers: Home against the Dallas Stars on Friday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-SW, NHL.TV)
Penguins: Home against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ROOT, FS-N, NHL.TV)