Crosby, Guentzel lift Penguins past Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- Sidney Crosby had two assists for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 3-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Saturday.

"He was a threat from the drop of the puck," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "When he is, I think he gives us a chance to win every night. He's always been inclined to do that; it's part of his leadership, his character, it's just part of his DNA."
Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist for the Penguins (19-11-1). Casey DeSmith made 24 saves and has allowed two or fewer goals in each of his past five starts (3-2-0).
"I think he has really established himself as an NHL goalie," Sullivan said of DeSmith. "He's played some big games, and every time we put him in there, he's given us a chance to win. In the third period, we got into some penalty trouble and he made some timely saves."
The Penguins lost their previous two games, including 3-2 here Thursday. The teams will conclude the three-game series at Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Scott Wedgewood made 26 saves in his second straight start for the Devils (10-14-4), who won their prior two games. New Jersey goalie Mackenzie Blackwood is day to day with an upper-body injury.
"I don't think that was our best effort after what we were able to do [Thursday]," Wedgewood said. "They were double-shifting their top line and kept coming at us. It was a little bit tougher for our guys to kind of manage that."
Kyle Palmieri gave the Devils a 1-0 lead when he scored on a rebound from the slot for his first goal in seven games at 7:19 of the first period.
"I didn't feel we got off to a good start and [Pittsburgh] owned most the first period," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "They outworked us, outplayed us, outskated us. We were fortunate to come away with a 1-0 lead."
Zach Aston-Reese tied it 1-1 when he scored on a snap shot from the slot at 4:59 of the second period.
Bryan Rust scored a power-play goal to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead on a backhand from the slot at 6:35.
Guentzel made it 3-1 on a deflection from the high slot at 14:25 of the third period.

The Devils appeared to score at 18:06 of the third when the puck crossed the goal line, but the referee stopped play prior to the puck entering the net.
"The referee said he blew his whistle," Palmieri said. "The puck was loose. I watched it ... I think it was [Penguins forward Mark Jankowski] go back and pull it out of the net. I don't know what the replay showed, but if he blew his whistle, he blew his whistle, so that's that."
The Devils were 0-for-4 and had one shot on goal on the power play.
"Nothing was really effective on the power play," Palmieri said. "Breakouts, break-ins, puck recoveries, generating opportunities. We have to find a way to be better, but it starts with every guy just going out there and shifting their mentality to make sure we're outworking the penalty kill, because if you don't, you're not going to have good nights like tonight."
Penguins forward Brandon Tanev was a late scratch after sustaining an upper-body injury during warmups. Sullivan said he was being evaluated.
"I kind of knew I had to step up a little bit more and be a little bit more physical (in the absence of Tanev)," Aston-Reese said. "Whenever I got the chance to finish a check, I tried my best to do that."
NOTES:Penguins center Jared McCann returned after missing six games with an upper-body injury; he had one shot on goal in 14:55. … Devils center Pavel Zacha, who returned after missing one game with a lower-body injury, was 11-for-16 on face-offs in 17:35. ... Sullivan passed Eddie Johnston for second on the Penguins all-time wins list (233). Dan Bylsma is first (252). ... Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin, who missed his second straight game, is week to week with a lower-body injury.