Penguins run up score early in win over visiting Oilers

Pittsburgh Penguins' Kevin Hayes (13) celebrates his goal on Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner with teammate Drew O'Connor during NHL action on Jan. 9, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press)

PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists to move into ninth on the NHL's career scoring list as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers 5-3 on Thursday night.

The Penguins captain tied Hall of Famer Joe Sakic at 1,641 points with an assist on Bryan Rust's first-period goal.

Crosby then moved past Sakic with an assist on Drew O'Connor's sixth goal of the season later in the period as the Penguins raced to a 4-1 advantage.

Rust also had a goal and two assists for Pittsburgh, which snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Oilers for the first time since Dec. 20, 2019.

Alex Nedeljkovic made 40 stops for the Penguins and Rickard Rakell scored his team-high 21st goal as Pittsburgh won without injured center Evgeni Malkin.

McDavid finished with three assists. Leon Draisaitl scored twice to boost his season total to an NHL-best 31, but the Penguins beat Stuart Skinner four times in the first 14 minutes.

Skinner settled down to finish with 21 saves but it wasn't enough as the Penguins ended Edmonton's four-game winning streak.

Edmonton finishes a four-game trip at Chicago on Saturday.