Crosby leads Penguins to 3-2 win and out of division cellar

The rookie scored his fifth goal and first in Madison Square Garden.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Sidney Crosby's first goal in Madison Square Garden helped the Pittsburgh Penguins get out of last place.
Crosby -- the game's first star -- scored his fifth goal in his 15th NHL game and Mario Lemieux picked on a familiar opponent in the Penguins' 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday night.
After starting the season with nine consecutive losses -- five in overtime -- the Penguins jumped over the New York Islanders into fourth place in the Atlantic Division.
Third win on road trip
Crosby has three goals and two assists through the first four games of the Penguins' longest road trip of the season. And it's no surprise that Pittsburgh is 3-1 with one game remaining.
"Every game he gets better," Lemieux said. "That's amazing that he just turned 18 and he's our best player night in and night out. It's incredible."
Crosby had never been in Manhattan before Sunday, but he looked totally comfortable on the ice.
"It's an historic place," said Crosby, who has points in 13 games. "The atmosphere here, it's always a challenge to play here so it was nice to get one."
Also leading the Penguins
Ziggy Palffy also scored, and Sebastien Caron made 35 saves in his sixth straight start for the Penguins (4-6-5). Lemieux has 61 goals and 71 assists in 68 games against the Rangers. Crosby's goal brought a wide smile to his face.
"I know he was looking forward to playing here in this building," the 40-year-old Lemieux said. "For him to get a goal in his first game is special."
Ryan Hollweg broke up Caron's shutout bid at 6:51 of the third period with his first NHL goal and Marcel Hossa got the Rangers to 3-2 with 6:24 remaining. But despite 13 third-period shots and a late power play, the Atlantic leaders had a two-game winning streak snapped. Jaromir Jagr's 12-game point streak was also ended by his former club.
"It's tough when you try to pull the rabbit out of the hat at the last minute," said Kevin Weekes, who made 21 saves. "It was not the start that we would have liked, but the fact that we hung in there and gave a valiant effort says a lot about our team."
Crosby took a pass from Ric Jackman as he streaked freely down the slot. He shifted the puck on his stick -- moving right and then left -- before sending it past Weekes to give Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead with 1:57 remaining in the second period.
Lemieux's sixth of the season gave Pittsburgh a rare early lead and moved him within five goals of Messier's total of 694. The Penguins' captain-owner took a crisp pass from defenseman Sergei Gonchar and fired it past Weekes to make it 1-0 at 15:20 of the first period.
Pittsburgh scored first for only the third time this season, but second on the trip that ends Wednesday in Atlanta. It was also the Penguins' second 2-0 lead of the season, both in the last three games.
Pittsburgh's lead grew to a season-best 3-0 just 3:42 into the third period when Palffy rifled a shot in from the right circle as teammate Matt Murley jumped in front of Weekes.
Palffy had a chance to stretch the lead further at 5:54 when he was awarded a penalty shot after being pulled down on a short-handed breakaway. But his hard shot was kicked out by Weekes' right pad.
"That was a big stop and they came back and made a game out of it," Lemieux said.
Just 57 seconds later, Hollweg took a pass in the slot from Jason Ward and ripped a shot in to make it 3-1.
"We had some chances, but we didn't play well," Jagr said. "We couldn't play the way we wanted to."
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