Sidney Crosby scores again, Penguins defeat Devils

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby scored his NHL-leading 24th goal in 29 games to help the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the New Jersey Devils 4-1 at PPG Paints Arena on Friday.
The Penguins (22-8-5) recovered from a 7-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. Crosby has scored in three straight games.
"I'll give credit to our leadership group," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think we trust this group of players. They always respond the right way. They're a proud group and they have high expectations for one another and I think it starts there."

WATCH: All Devils vs. Penguins highlights
Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 23 saves, is 9-5-4 after winning three of his past five starts (3-0-1).
"That was a rough one last night," Fleury said. "It was good we got to play right away. We didn't have to spend all Christmas thinking about it. … I thought the guys had a great night tonight."

Crosby scored in the first period before Eric Fehr extended Pittsburgh's lead to 2-0 in the second. Devils forward Kyle Palmieri and Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel each scored to end the second with Pittsburgh leading 3-1.
Patric Hornqvist made it 4-1 with 7:55 left in the third period.
The Devils (13-14-7) lost for the eighth time in nine games (1-7-1). They shut out the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0 on Thursday to end a seven-game losing streak.
Cory Schneider made 35 saves after making 16 against the Flyers in New Jersey's first shutout of the season.
"They're going to get shots. They're a good team," Schneider said. "I don't mind the shots. In fact, for me, I like more shots. Sometimes, even if they outshoot you, you have to find a way to win 3-2, 2-1. … We haven't been able to win a game that maybe we're not supposed to. So, I think it's about time that we do that."

Pittsburgh outshot New Jersey 10-2 in the first period and Crosby took advantage to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.
After Adam Henrique was called for hooking, Justin Schultz sent a pass to Crosby at the top of the right circle. Crosby one-timed a slap shot over Schneider's glove with 9:00 remaining in the first.
Fehr made it 2-0 at 4:13 of the second period. Matt Cullen shot into the crease and Jon Merrill attempted to clear the puck, but sent it off Fehr before it bounced past Schneider.
Palmieri's goal was upheld to make it 2-1 with 6:36 remaining in the second after Pittsburgh challenged for goaltender interference.
Ruhwedel gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead with 38.2 seconds left in the second. It was his first NHL goal in 35 career games.

Goal of the game

After the Penguins' lead was cut in half earlier in the second period, Ruhwedel extended it back to two goals within its final minute. He took a wrist shot that snuck through a screen from Patric Hornqvist to flutter past Schneider for Pittsburgh's third goal.

Save of the game

Andy Greene beat Evgeni Malkin down the ice and received a pass from Pavel Zacha, who sent him in alone on Fleury. After Greene went forehand-to-backhand, Fleury made a split-pad save that sent the puck off the right post and back through his five-hole to maintain the a 2-1 lead with 4:53 remaining in the second period.

Highlight of the game

John Moore shot into traffic around Pittsburgh's crease with Palmieri posted in front of Fleury. After Fleury fell, Palmieri poked the loose puck through him for the Devils' first goal.

Unsung performance of the game

With the Devils on a 5-on-3 for 40 seconds, the Penguins successfully killed Bryan Rust's interference penalty. P.A. Parenteau was called for interference at 9:11 of the second period to make it 4-on-4 and help Pittsburgh protect a 2-0 lead.

They said it

"It's been awhile. It feels good to get that first one out of the way. … It gave us a little insurance." -- Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel on his first NHL goal
"They got beat pretty bad last night and they wanted to come back and have a great game to rebound from last night. … You have to give them some credit, but you can't give them all the credit. We have to take responsibility on ourselves too." -- Devils defenseman Damon Severson
"Right now, we're really trying to get our game. We had it for a while early where we were winning lots of games and right now we're going through a stretch where we have to really focus on getting our game where it needs to be." -- Devils coach John Hynes

Need to know

The Devils have scored fewer than three goals in eight of their past nine games. … Ruhwedel replaced defenseman Derrick Pouliot, who was scratched after playing four consecutive games. … Malkin had two assists to move one point away from 800 in his career.

What's next

Devils: Host the Penguins on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, MSG+, ROOT, NHL.TV)
Penguins: At the Devils on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, MSG+, ROOT, NHL.TV)