Crosby’s 4 assists power Pens rout

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Sidney Crosby isn’t scoring goals. The way he is setting up his teammates, it hardly matters.

The Pittsburgh captain dished out four assists in his first home game in more than three months, James Neal recorded his second NHL hat trick, and the Penguins crushed the Winnipeg Jets 8-4 on Tuesday night.

“You give them space and they eat you up,” Winnipeg coach Claude Noel said. “That’s what they did.”

Repeatedly.

Evgeni Malkin added two goals — including the 200th of his NHL career — and added three assists to lift his point total to an NHL-leading 93. Pittsburgh bounced back from an overtime loss in Philadelphia on Sunday, that ended an 11-game winning streak, and pulled within a point of the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers.

“There were some nice hockey plays out there,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. “There’s some of that tape you see in some highlight videos.”

Having two of the best players on the planet playing alongside each other for stretches certainly helps.

Crosby has nine points in four games since his return from concussion-like symptoms. He fed linemate Tyler Kennedy for a pair of goals and helped set up power-play tallies by Neal and Malkin.

Not bad for a guy who has played only 12 games in 14 months.

“There are still areas where I need to get sharper,” said Crosby, who had more than 19 minutes of ice time. “But everyone is playing so well ... makes it easier for anyone coming back.”

Bryan Little scored twice for the Jets. Ondrej Pavelec was pulled in the second after allowing five Penguins goals on 24 shots. The Jets remained four points behind eighth-place Washington.