ST. LOUIS (AP) — Sidney Crosby got another milestone goal on Sunday. The puck went right to his dad.
Crosby scored twice, including his 400th career goal, and the Pittsburgh Penguins pulled away from the St. Louis Blues for a 4-1 victory.
Bryan Rust snapped a tie with a third-period tally and Riley Sheahan also scored for the Penguins, who have won 12 of their past 17. Matt Murray made 33 saves.
Crosby had not scored in his previous 10 games dating to Jan. 14. The captain stopped the drought in the second period in front of his father Troy, who was on the two-game fathers’ trip that began Friday in Dallas.
“It’s tough when you’re waiting that long to get it, but it’s definitely worth the wait to have my dad here,” Crosby said. “So many early mornings and sacrifices so I could play hockey. It’s special to have him here.”
Troy Crosby got the puck after the game along with a big hug.
“It’s just so nice to be here,” Troy Crosby said. “To be able to share it with him, there are just no words to describe it.”
Kyle Brodziak scored for St. Louis, which had won two in a row. Jake Allen had 19 stops.
Crosby jammed a shot under Allen’s pad from the side of the net at 3:31, tying it at 1 with his 18th of the season. He becomes the 95th player in NHL history to reach the 400-goal mark.
“I still don’t know how it trickled in, it seemed like it took forever,” Crosby said. “You’re trying to put it in that area, short side. Somehow it kind of found its way in.”
Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan marveled as Crosby’s skills.
“He scores more goals from below the goal line than anybody I’ve ever seen and he’s one of the few guys that thinks the game at such a high level,” Sullivan said. “It was a typical Crosby goal.”
Allen couldn’t believe Crosby was able to find such a small opening.
“That’s why he’s the best player in the world,” Allen said. “I would never play that any differently. He’s one hell of a smart player.”
The goal came 21 seconds after Brodziak converted from close range off a pass from Chris Thorburn.
Rust scored on a breakaway at 1:05 of the third period to give his team a 2-1 lead.
“It was kind of a shot of adrenaline,” Rust said.
Crosby added an empty-net goal with 2:48 left.
It looked as if Paul Stastny had scored for St. Louis just 34 seconds before Rust got his eighth of the season, but video replay showed the puck was hit with a high stick.
“It wasn’t our worst game we’ve played,” St. Louis defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “I thought we battled hard.”
Pittsburgh’s sixth win in eight games also marked the return of Ryan Reaves to St. Louis after he was traded to the Penguins in June. Reaves, who spent seven season as the Blues’ enforcer, was given a loud ovation when he came onto the ice for the first time.
“I saw a lot of signs, a lot of love,” Reaves said. “It was a fun day.”
NOTES: Stastny played in his 800th NHL game. … Allen started back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 27-29. … Pittsburgh has gone four games without a power-play goal, tying a season-high four-game drought from Dec. 11-18. … St. Louis coach Mike Yeo was an assistant for the Penguins when they won the Stanley Cup in 2009.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Host Ottawa on Tuesday.
Blues: Travel to Nashville on Tuesday.
