Crosby’s OT goal draws Penguins even
NHL: Sidney Crosby wasn’t sure Bryan Rust saw him, so the Pittsburgh Penguins captain gave his impromptu linemate a quick yell just to make sure.
“I tried to let him know I was there,” Crosby said.
A deft drop pass from Rust and a flick of Crosby’s wrist later, the superstar’s lengthy postseason scoring drought was over. So were the chances of the Penguins falling into a deep hole against Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference finals.
Crosby’s shot sailed high and hard over Andrei Vasilevskiy’s stick 40 seconds into overtime on Monday night, lifting the host Penguins to a 3-2 victory and tying the best-of-seven series at 1. Game 3 is Wednesday night in Tampa.
“It feels good to get rewarded,” Crosby said after collecting the first OT playoff winner of his NHL career. “I feel we deserved it tonight.”
Crosby hadn’t found the back of the net since Game 4 of the opening round against the Rangers, though Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper downplayed the idea that the two-time MVP was in a slump, pointing out a cold streak for Crosby is a hot streak for most others.
Yet most others aren’t Crosby. In danger of heading south down 2-0, Crosby generated scoring chance after scoring chance, including a backhand in the second period that appeared destined for an open net before Vasilevskiy stretched his glove out to make a save.
Instead, it only seemed to lift the Penguins to another level. Pittsburgh dominated most of the night, outshooting Tampa Bay 41-21 while spending most of the game in the Lightning zone. Only the brilliant play of the 21-year-old Vasilevskiy – filling in for injured starter Ben Bishop – kept Tampa Bay in it.
“He was outstanding,” Cooper said. “You never want to lose your No. 1 guy in (Bishop) but …. Vasi was probably the reason why the game went to overtime in the first place.”
Vasilevskiy finished with 38 stops, but gave Crosby all the room he needed to score perhaps the second-most important goal of his life after his overtime winner for Team Canada in the gold medal game of the 2010 Olympics.
Leicester parades with EPL trophy
SOCCER: An estimated 240,000 people turned out to watch Leicester’s players parade the Premier League trophy in an open-top bus tour through the streets of the city in central England.
Leicester started the season as a 5,000-1 longshot to win the title, having only narrowly avoided relegation at the end of the 2014-15 campaign.
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri said “it’s unbelievable. All the city is here.”
Hours later, Ranieri was named manager of the year by the English League Managers Association, only the second non-Briton to earn the award.
Italy coach Conte cleared: Italy coach Antonio Conte has been cleared of match-fixing after a fast-track trial in Cremona.
The prosecutor had requested a suspended six-month sentence for the future Chelsea manager as well as a fine of 8,000 euros ($9,000).
Altidor injured: The U.S. is uncertain of Jozy Altidore’s availability for the Copa America following yet another hamstring injury. The team will also be without a half-dozen foreign-based players for Sunday’s exhibition game at Puerto Rico because of club commitments.
76ers first to land jersey sponsorship
NBA: The Philadelphia 76ers have become the first team in the NBA to put a sponsorship logo on player uniforms, striking a deal with StubHub for a spot on one of the hottest pieces of real estate available in sports.
StubHub, a website that connects ticket buyers and sellers, will have its logo appear on the front left of the jersey in 2017-18 for the start of a three-year trial period.
Pacers promote Nate McMillan: Indiana promoted assistant Nate McMillan to head coach, ending the search for Frank Vogel’s replacement after less than two weeks.
McMillan spent 12 seasons as the head coach in Seattle and Portland, going 478-452 in the regular season and 14-20 in the playoffs.
Raptors’ Valanciunas out: Toronto center Jonas Valanciunas will not play in Game 1 against Cleveland.
Former Laker passes: Jim McMillian, 68, who helped the Los Angeles Lakers to a 33-game winning streak and the 1972 NBA championship, died.
King wins State 2 of Tour of California
MISCELLANY: Ben King out-sprinted Evan Huffman and won Stage 2 of the Tour of California while assuming the overall lead.
Canada still perfect: Canada rolled to its sixth successive win of the world ice hockey championship in Russia, beating France 4-0.
Seahawks make moves: The Seattle Seahawks have signed linebacker Khairi Fortt after waiving linebacker Christian French due to injury.