Crosby Passes Lemieux, Letang Reaches 600 Assists

The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 to earn their third straight win. Sidney Crosby scored during a three-goal, 3:08 span in the second period to extend his goal streak to three games and registered his 1,896th combined regular-season and playoff point, passing Mario Lemieux and moving into seventh all-time; that mark has also been counted by some as his 700th career goal. Kris Letang picked up two assists to reach 600 career assists, becoming the 20th defenseman in NHL history to hit that mark and one of the few to do so with a single team. Justin Brazeau had a goal and two assists, while Anthony Mantha, Tommy Novak and Connor Dewar also scored; goaltender Arturs Silovs, facing his former team, allowed an early Conor Garland goal before settling in to finish with 23 saves. The victory improved Pittsburgh to 5-2-0 under first-year coach Dan Muse and snapped Vancouver’s short winning run and road trip amid absences to key players; Kevin Lankinen stopped 20 of 25 shots in the loss.