By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH — The Ducks’ four-game road trip came to an end at the hands of a future Hall of Famer.
Sidney Crosby scored his second goal of the game 2:35 into overtime as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Ducks, 2-1, on Thursday night to end a six-game losing streak.
Crosby found himself in alone on Lukas Dostal and hit the brakes before roofing the puck over the Ducks’ goaltender for the 93rd game-winning goal of his career.
Alex Nedeljkovic made 22 saves for Pittsburgh, which outshot the Ducks 46-23. Dostal stopped 44 shots to keep the Ducks in it, but it still wasn’t enough.
The 24-year-old Dostal has built off his strong finish to last season. He remained steady while facing near-relentless pressure from the Penguins while finishing with 40-plus saves for the third time in six starts.
Alex Killorn picked up his second goal of the season for the Ducks, who ended their four-game East Coast trip with a 1-2-1 mark.
The Ducks led going into the third period before Crosby tied it with a redirect off a point shot from Matt Grzelcyk 1:47 into the final frame.
Nedeljkovic made three big saves down the stretch. He turned aside Trevor Zegras with the help of defenseman Marcus Pettersson with 4:25 to go, stoned Cutter Gauthier on a breakaway moments later and stopped a redirect by Pavel Mintyukov in the final seconds to force overtime.
Pittsburgh needed something positive to happen at the end of a miserable October and responded with a win in front of one of the smallest crowds in the history of PPG Paints Arena.
KEY STAT
85-12-5 – Pittsburgh’s record during Crosby’s career when their longtime captain scores at least twice.
UP NEXT
The Ducks begin a six-game homestand on Sunday against the Blackhawks, while the Penguins host the Canadiens on Saturday.
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