Crosby gets 2 points, Penguins defeat Flyers to end 3-game skid

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist to help the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 6-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.

Evgeni Malkin and Tommy Novak each had two assists for the Penguins (22-14-10), who had scored two total goals in three straight losses (0-2-1). Stuart Skinner made 30 saves.

“I’ve seen (this rivalry) now, and this is my third game. So, I can’t imagine 20 years, how you’d feel,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. “The guys that have been here for a long time, it’s awesome. ... I knew about the rivalry, but you don’t really know until you’re seeing it firsthand, and you’re a part of it.”

Matvei Michkov, Rodrigo Abols and Nick Seeler scored, and Denver Barkey had two assists for the Flyers (22-16-8), who have been outscored 25-9 during a five-game losing streak (0-4-1). They have allowed at least five goals in each of their past four games, including a 5-2 loss at the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.

Samuel Ersson allowed three goals on 14 shots before being replaced in the second period by Aleksei Kolosov, who made 13 saves in relief.

“Guys are trying,” Philadelphia coach Rick Tocchet said. “But then, they’re running around at bad angles, you know? One hand, sticks in the air. We get too many stick infractions. ... Adversity has hit our team. And in your career, you’re going to have adversity. I don’t care who you are. It’s how we deal with it.”

Justin Brazeau put the Penguins ahead 1-0 with seven seconds left on a power play at 2:16 of the first period, tapping in a pass from Ben Kindel.

Bryan Rust made it 2-0 at 12:25 with a wrist shot from the top of the left face-off circle past Ersson’s glove on another power play.

Egor Chinakhov extended the lead to 3-0 at 1:16 of the second period, taking a pass from Malkin for a wrist shot in the slot.

Abols answered back 1:01 later, cutting the deficit to 3-1 at 2:17 by deflecting a slap shot from Cam York.

Kolosov replaced Ersson following the goal.

Blake Lizotte made it 4-1 at 18:29. Noel Acciari drove to the net for a backhand, producing a rebound he tipped over Kolosov on a second attempt that Lizotte then batted out of the air into the net.

“We've let some leads go that we definitely shouldn't have,” Lizotte said. “I think it just shows the learning curve that we’ve made. In games like this, you have to control emotion, especially when momentum is maybe not in your favor.”

Crosby took a cross-ice pass from Malkin for a wrist shot from one knee at the bottom of the right circle, pushing the lead to 5-1 on a power play at 3:10 of the third period.

“It was good to convert (on the power play),” Crosby said. “I think it’s one of those things that you’re always looking to improve, but I thought we gave ourselves some opportunities tonight and capitalized on them.”

The Flyers have allowed 12 power-play goals in their past eight games and have scored on three of their past 32 chances since Dec. 28.

“The special teams, we all know, are killing us,” Tocchet said. “The PK is leaking big time. ... So, 5-on-5 play is fine, you know? It just looks bad because our special teams is really bad. We’ve got to figure it out.”

Connor Dewar scored on a shot through Kolosov’s five-hole to make it 6-1 at 4:27.

Seeler pulled Philadelphia to within 6-2 at 10:54, and Michkov finished a feed from Barkey at 17:25 for the 6-3 final.

“It’s a long season,” Barkey said. “There’s a lot of games. So, you’re going to go through your ups and downs, you know, your slumps, if you want to call it that. Just sticking together as a team through this, not separating, sticking together and sticking to the game plan.”

NOTES: Crosby has 51 points (25 goals, 26 assists). It’s his 19th season with at least 50 points, tied with Alex Ovechkin and Wayne Gretzky for the sixth-most in NHL history behind Ron Francis (22), Gordie Howe (22), Jaromir Jagr (20), Mark Messier (20) and Ray Bourque (20). He is on pace for 44 goals this season, which would tie Gordie Howe (1968-69) and Ovechkin (2024-25) for the most in a season by a player age 38 or older. ... Kolosov was recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Thursday after Flyers goalie Dan Vladar sustained an undisclosed injury in the loss to the Sabres on Wednesday.