Penguins gain in Metropolitan race with shootout win against Predators

NASHVILLE -- The Pittsburgh Penguins moved into a tie for second place in the Metropolitan Division with a 2-1 shootout win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.

Sidney Crosby scored the only goal in the shootout after Ryan Ellis tied the game 1-1 for the Predators at 16:59 of the third period with a shot from the bottom of the right face-off circle that went in short side off goalie Matt Murray.
"I thought we were aggressive," Crosby said. "I mean, their defensemen] are so good at joining the play in the offensive zone. They move so well. They move as a unit out there, so there are times when you get caught in your end. I thought we did a good job of sorting things out. [Murray] made some saves. We got some huge blocks when we needed them, but I thought we were just committed to defending. That led to offensive chances. We hit some crossbars and things like that, but we got some good looks."
***[WATCH: [All Penguins vs. Predators highlights]*
Bryan Rust scored, and Murray made 28 saves for the Penguins (40-24-11), who are tied with the New York Islanders, three points behind the Washington Capitals for first place.
"I'm thrilled for them," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think our team has played extremely well here over the last couple of weeks and probably deserved more points than we've gotten. That's how hockey goes sometimes.
"They didn't let up. We gave up a goal with four minutes to go in the game, or whatever. I thought we were playing really well in the third period. We liked so much of our game, and that's what we just kept telling them on the bench: 'Just keep playing. Just keep playing.'"

The Penguins ended a three-game losing streak. They lost 2-1 in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday after allowing the tying goal with 19 seconds left, then lost 3-2 in the shootout after the Carolina Hurricanes tied it with 1:56 remaining Tuesday.
Pekka Rinne made 32 saves for the Predators (42-27-6), who are two points behind the Winnipeg Jets for first in the Central Division and four ahead of the St. Louis Blues for second.
"When that clock is ticking down like that in the third period, and I thought both goaltenders played really well and we haven't been able to crack theirs and haven't found a way to put one on the board yet, you see the time ticking down, that's a huge goal (by Ellis) at the moment," Laviolette said. "So it was good to get the point. I wish we had the puck a little bit more in overtime. They did a pretty good job of possessing it."

Rust gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead at 5:57 of the second period with a shot from the top of the goal crease. He received a pass from Kris Letang and beat Rinne with a backhand.
"I was about to break my stick over the boards if I didn't get one there," Rust said. "After the first period, I think I had four or five chances there. We stuck with it. I think we were working well together. We were skating. We were getting to the open space. We were good to get one there, and I thought we could've had a few more."

They said it

"I mean, we've had a lot of practice, so I guess in that case we've probably learned to just move by it quick. In the case tonight, I mean three minutes left, there's still a lot of time left in the game. Sometimes those have happened with less than 20 seconds left. Different scenarios, but I think we've just tried to stay positive, move by it, and make sure we finish hard." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby on rebounding after allowing the tying goal late in the third period

"I thought it was tight defensively. We played a team that checked really well tonight. They hadn't won in a few games and they were in the search for points, so you knew you were going to get a good one out of them, and I thought it was. I thought that the chances were hard to come by. At the end of the day, though, we probably had, I don't know, somewhere between 15 and 18, which isn't a horrible number. But I think we probably gave up a little too much, especially in the first period." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette

Need to know

Murray made saves against Ellis and Brian Boyle in the shootout after Nashville's Ryan Johansen shot wide in the first round. ... Johansen's assist streak ended at five games (six assists).

What's next

Penguins:At the Dallas Stars on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-SW+, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)
Predators: At the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN360, SNW, SNP, FS-TN, NHL.TV)