Penguins score 4 power-play goals in victory

Associated Press

MONTREAL

The Pittsburgh Penguins finally won without Sidney Crosby, and with some swagger to boot.

Alex Goligoski scored twice and added an assist, and Pittsburgh scored four power-play goals to end a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.

Tyler Kennedy and Jordan Staal scored with the man advantage in the second period to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead. Goligoski, who opened the scoring at even strength in the first, and Chris Kunitz added power-play goals in the third.

Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 20 saves, crossed his arms as his teammates gathered around him at the end of the game.

“I thought that’s how you celebrate in Montreal,” said Fleury, who grew up in nearby Sorel, Quebec.

Canadiens goalie Carey Price struck a similar pose after Montreal’s shootout win over Pittsburgh last Thursday.

“That was a push in the back for us and we made sure we could come back and put it in his face,” said Kris Letang, who got his third assist on Pittsburgh’s fifth goal.

The Penguins won without Crosby in the lineup for the first time in four games since their captain was sidelined by a concussion.

“He’s the best player in the game,” Goligoski said. “We have to make sure we’re playing the right way, maybe a little more so when he’s not in the lineup. It’s tough without him but if we’re playing our game we can still win a lot of hockey games.”

David Desharnais scored his first NHL goal to give the Canadiens a shortlived 2-1 lead early in the second. Tomas Plekanec scored his 13th of the season to tie it at 1 at 13:15 of the first, just 18 seconds after Goligoski opened the scoring with his first goal of the game.

Price stopped 31 shots for Montreal, which ended a three-game winning streak. That run began with the Canadiens goalie stopping five straight Penguins shooters in Thursday’s tiebreaker.