Sidney Crosby capped his comeback with a flourish, scoring twice and adding two assists in his season debut as the Pittsburgh Penguins crushed the New York Islanders 5-0 on Monday night.
Playing his first game in more than 10 months while recovering from concussion-like symptoms, Crosby appeared to be in midseason form. He scored on his third shift in spectacular fashion, weaving through the New York defense, before beating Anders Nilsson with a backhand for his first goal since December last year.
Crosby added assists on goals by Evgeni Malkin and Brooks Orpik, then capped his comeback with a second tally, a backhand that fluttered by Nilsson early in the third period to provide the final margin.
Steve Sullivan also scored for the Penguins, while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots.
Nilsson, making just his second start of the season, made 31 saves for New York.
BRUINS 1, CANADIENS 0
In Montreal, Tim Thomas made 33 saves for his second straight shutout as Boston extended their winning streak to nine games with a victory over Montreal.
Andrew Ference scored his second goal 15 minutes, 41 seconds in for Boston, who have not lost since dropping two in a row to Montreal from Oct. 27 to Oct. 29.
Thomas got his third shutout of the season, including a 23-save effort in a 6-0 road win over the New York Islanders on Saturday. It was his 29th regular-season shutout.
The Bruins have outscored their opponents 46-14 over the course of the streak, their longest since Jan. 1, 2009.
Monday’s other results:
‧ Panthers 4, Devils 3
‧ Hurricanes 4, Flyers 2
‧ Capitals 4, Coyotes 3
‧ Stars 4, Oilers 1
‧ Blue Jackets 4, Flames 1
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