Pettersson's overtime goal lifts Penguins over Canadiens

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Marcus Pettersson scored in overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Saturday night.

Pettersson took a pass from Rickard Rakell and beat Jake Allen at 2:43 of overtime after Pittsburgh forced the extra period with a goal midway through the third.

“It was a terrific shot. Right under the bar,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought he had great deception. He sold the pass to (Rakell). It was a goal-scorer’s goal.”

Lars Eller scored his ninth goal of the season for Pittsburgh in his 1,000th NHL game. Jake Guentzel scored his 22nd goal and Sidney Crosby continued a seven-game point streak with an assist.

Evgeni Malkin established a season-long five-game point streak, while defenceman Erik Karlsson’s 10-game point streak ended. Tristan Jarry made 25 saves for the Penguins, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Pittsburgh has points in 15 of its last 20 games overall.

“Every night is a fight,” Jarry said. “We’re on the outside looking in. When you’re in that position, you’re playing desperate hockey. We need these points a lot more than some other teams.”

Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle scored for the Canadiens, who played their 7,000th game in franchise history. Cole Caufield extended a career-high nine-game point streak and Mike Matheson equalled his personal best for points in a season.

Allen stopped 30 shots for the Canadiens, who have lost four of their last five.

“I thought (Allen) gave us a chance to win this game,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t. We played hard. We played strong. We just didn’t get the result.”

Guentzel tied the game, 2-2, at 10:03 of the third period. Guentzel took a spinning backhand pass from Crosby and stuffed a shot inside the post. The assist was Crosby’s 50th point of the season, making the Penguins’ captain the 20th player in NHL history with at least 17 50-point seasons.

Guentzel and Sullivan both said after the game the pass that led to the goal was one of the best they’ve witnessed from Crosby.

“It was incredible,” Sullivan said. “I don’t know how he saw him or knows (Guentzel) is there. We grow accustomed to it. He makes so many plays, but that was certainly a highlight-reel goal.”

Eller became the first Danish-born player in league history to skate in 1,000 games. Eller, who won a Stanley Cup in Washington and has played for five different teams, including Montreal, is the 36th active and 388th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 games. St. Louis picked Eller No. 13 overall in 2007.

Eller’s teammates wore his No. 20 jersey during pre-game warm-ups. A video tribute played with highlights and congratulatory messages from current and former teammates before Eller’s line started the game.

“It was a fantastic night,” Eller said. “It couldn’t have been better. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Visit Washington on Feb. 6.

Penguins: Host Winnipeg on Feb. 6.

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