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Nov 23, 2009 10:31 pm US/Eastern
Crosby Lifts Penguins Past Panthers, 3-2
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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SUNRISE, FL - NOVEMBER 23: Nathan Horton #16 is congratulated by Keith Ballard #2 and Bryan McCabe #24 of the Florida Panthers after scoring against of the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 23, 2009 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida.
Joel Auerbach/Getty Images
Sidney Crosby scored in overtime, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied from two down to beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Monday night.
Crosby scored at the 3:07 mark on a power play goal, with Nathan Horton's double minor penalty for high sticking proving to be the game changer.
The Panthers were cruising through two periods before falling to the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Horton and Keith Ballard scored to give Florida a 2-0 lead, and the Panthers looked like they were on their way to their fourth straight win.
Horton, on a hot streak as of late, struck first for Florida.
He scored on a one-timer at the 2:27 mark after Pittsburgh erred on its defensive scheme, the Penguins overloading the left side with three defenders on forward Stephen Weiss.
"We kept going and I got a nice pass from Stephen," Horton said. "He's such a smart player – it's definitely nice to get him going. It was an unbelievable pass."
Ballard put the Panthers ahead, 2-0, in the second with his first goal of the season.
This one also got some assistance from Horton, who has 16 points in his last 13 games.
Horton won a battle with Mark Eaton, then found Michael Frolik down the middle. Ballard called for it on the left side, and Frolik obliged.
That's when Pittsburgh turned it on. After missing 34 shots through the third period, Pittsburgh broke through when Pascal Dupuis scored on a wrist shot in traffic.
Two minutes later, the Panthers flapped defensively.
"They're a good team," Florida coach Pete DeBoer said. "We didn't handle that pressure as well as we would've liked. It's a point against the Stanley Cup champs and we'll take it."
With three players focusing on Evgeni Malkin behind the net, Mike Rupp came up the middle. He got a pass from Malkin, then tipped it in to tie it.
"We stuck with it," Crosby said.
"We had some great chances throughout the game, but guys stuck with things and we got two big goals in the third. Fortunate break for our team – to get that power play was huge for us. We're down a lot of guys. We've continued to try to battle through things."
Tomas Vokoun had 42 saves for Florida, which went into overtime for the fourth time in the past six games.
Vokoun robbed Malkin of a goal at the 3:34 mark, just before Horton was called for the penalty.
"We can't blame anybody but ourselves. They pushed it into overtime, and got a big goal. It's unfortunate we took a penalty there in overtime," defenseman Jordan Leopold said.
After a poor start to the season, the Panthers seem to be finding their groove.
They stunned the Detroit Red Wings in overtime then beat the New York Rangers, 3-2, before losing on Monday. Florida is 7-2-1 in its past 10 games.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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