Penguins get character gain in NYC without Crosby, Malkin

Friday in New York, Penguins played without their captain for the first time since 2022, when Sidney Crosby missed Game 6 in the first round against Rangers.

He missed the evening’s competition with a upper body injury and ended his consecutive matches played line of 229. Head coach Mike Sullivan said, “Right now we just take it one day at a time” when it comes to Crosby’s situation, but it’s Encouraging that he was on the ice for the optional game-day skate.

“Obviously, he’s an important player for us,” Sullivan said. “When he is not in our lineup, he is a tough guy to replace. He is the heartbeat of this team. So we will do our best to put our best game on the ice tonight. “

Crosby joined Evgeni Malkin (lower body, week to week) on the injury list, which meant other players had great opportunities to step up and that’s what they did. They brought the high level of competition that Sullivan said would be necessary for success, and fought against a 3-2 win to begin this year’s Highmark Dads trip.

Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves, while Blake Lizotte, Rickard Rakell and Phil Tomasino all scored for Pittsburgh.

“I think it just speaks bind to the type of people we have in our dressing room. You can thank that group right over there because they are a reflection of these guys,” Sullivan said, moving to the overall father and guests .

“They are good children. They compete hard and they don’t look for excuses. This was a game that we could potentially have, but we didn’t. I thought our guys competed hard. We fought. We found a way. Some guys stepped up. We got good goals. But I thought our competition spirit was as good as it has been. “