Pens win 2-1 to tie series

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored a goal, prevented one and his deft stickhandling led to Kris Letang’s winner late in the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rebounded to beat the Ottawa Senators 2-1 on Friday night to even the Eastern Conference first-round series at a game apiece.

Several minutes after Crosby slid on his stomach across the crease to punch away Anton Volchenkov’s shot as it lay inches from the goal line, Crosby began cycling the puck by himself behind the Ottawa net. Looking for an opening to pass or to dart out and take a shot, he crossed the goalie trapezoid three times before finally carrying the puck out and, sliding to the ice, feeding it to Letang at the right point.

Letang’s shot with 4:12 left beat goalie Brian Elliott, who made 29 saves but didn’t get any support after Peter Regin scored on the Senators’ first shot 18 seconds into the game. Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury shook off that goal and a poor first game to turn aside Ottawa’s next 19 shots.

Full story appears in Saturday’s edition.