PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby wasn’t sure Bryan Rust saw him, so the Pittsburgh Penguins captain gave his impromptu linemate a quick yell just to make sure.
“I tried to let him know I was there,” Crosby said.
A deft drop pass from Rust and a flick of Crosby’s wrist later, the superstar’s lengthy postseason scoring drought was over. So were the chances of the Penguins falling into a deep hole against Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference finals.
Crosby’s shot sailed high and hard over Andrei Vasilevskiy’s stick 40 seconds into overtime on Monday night, lifting the Penguins to a 3-2 victory and tying the best-of-seven series at 1. Game 3 is Wednesday night in Tampa.
“It feels good to get rewarded,” Crosby said after collecting the first overtime playoff winner of his NHL career. “I feel we deserved it tonight.”