Sidney Crosby's OT winner powers Penguins to comeback win against Utah to wrap up road trip

Andrew Destin, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jan 30, 2025

Published in Hockey

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Of course it was Sidney Crosby, and of course it came courtesy of his vaunted backhand.

The captain netted a game-winning goal for the Penguins in their 3-2 overtime win against the Utah Hockey Club on Wednesday night at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Penguins, who had lost 12 of their previous 16 games, nine of those in regulation, were desperately seeking to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat to close out a mostly rotten season-long trip.

For most of the evening, it appeared the Penguins were well on their way to another loss west of the Mississippi River. The Penguins didn’t lead until the final horn, as Utah twice built up one-goal leads. The Hockey Club took its first advantage shortly after a Blake Lizotte holding call, as the Penguins’ struggling penalty kill failed them.

Marcus Pettersson evened the count early in the second period, but a defensive gaffe by Erik Karlsson once again put the Penguins down a goal. Utah’s Michael Carcone skated past Karlsson, who was caught puck-watching in the offensive end, to spring free for a breakaway chance. Although Alex Nedeljkovic initially stopped Carcone, he scored off his own rebound.

Karlsson atoned for his mistake by scoring the only goal of the third period. Six minutes into the frame, Karlsson dangled for what seemed to be an eternity, and then ripped a wrister over Utah goalie Connor Ingram’s outstretched glove to break a six-game pointless streak.

The Penguins held on the rest of the third period to secure at least a loser’s point, and then controlled the puck for most of overtime. Crosby then turned to his trademark backhand for his 95th career game-winning goal, and fourth tally in five games to send the Penguins back to Pittsburgh in better spirits.

Calm and Cooley

West Mifflin native Logan Cooley was as impactful a player as any on the ice for Utah on Wednesday night. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft skated with some noticeable speed, but it was his work on the forecheck that was particularly impressive.

With roughly five minutes to go in the second period, Cooley was perfectly positioned to pick off a pass by Rickard Rakell in the Penguins’ own end. Cooley skated toward the net but briefly lost possession of the puck when Pettersson deflected it upward.

No problem. Cooley batted the saucering puck in mid-air, knocking a line drive that nearly whiffled past Nedeljkovic. Although Cooley didn’t tally a goal against his hometown team on that attempt, he did register a point by assisting on Mikhail Sergachev’s power-play goal.

All of 20 years old, Cooley looks the part of a superstar in the making. Through 50 games this season, Cooley has 43 points on 15 goals and 28 assists. Although he made the NHL’s All-Rookie team in 2023-24, Cooley has taken a significant step forward this season.

Grzelcyk generating goals

By no means has it been a perfect season in Pittsburgh for Matt Grzelcyk, who spent the first eight years of his NHL career with the Bruins. But, in a number of ways, he’s been a nice surprise.

For one, Grzelyck has contributed in the offensive end far more than expected. With his secondary assist on Crosby’s goal, Grzelyck set a new career high for points in a season (27). A whopping 10 of those have come on the man advantage, as Grzelcyk has done a banner job quarterbacking the Penguins top power play for the most part this season.

Certainly, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Grzelyck hasn’t been the Penguins’ most physical defender on the blue line, and he hasn’t always been in sync with his defensive partner this season. Considering team president Kyle Dubas brought Grzelyck aboard on a prove-it, one-year, $2.75 million deal, it’d be fair to say the 31-year-old veteran has exceeded expectations.

Ice chips

• Blake Lizotte (illness) returned to the Penguins’ lineup following a three-game absence

• Philip Tomasino was a healthy scratch for the first time as a Penguin. Matt Nieto and Ryan Shea both also watched Wednesday’s game from the press box.

• Kevin Hayes and Cody Glass switched spots in the Penguins’ lineup, with the former centering the second line and the latter the third line.

• Coach Mike Sullivan put his defensemen pairs in a blender. Grzelyck and Kris Letang formed the top pair while Pettersson paired with Karlsson. Ryan Graves and Pierre-Olivier Joseph comprised the third pair.

• Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won Wednesday night by the widest margin in team. Ville Koivunen potted four goals while Vasily Ponomarev netted a hat trick for the Penguins’ AHL affiliate.

• Boko Imama engaged in his first fight with the Penguins in the first period. The gritty fourth-liner sparred with Utah’s Liam O’Brien, and took him to the ice.

_________