Crosby’s 4 points trigger triumph

Associated Press

BUFFALO, N.Y.

A swollen nose couldn’t stop Sidney Crosby from enjoying a four-point night. And neither could goaltender Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres.

“Not really getting much air through there right now,” Crosby said Friday, referring to the cut he wore on the left side of his nose after being struck by a puck a night earlier on Long Island. “But other than that, it’s pretty good.”

So’s he.

In a season in which lingering concussion questions have hung over the Pittsburgh star, Sid The Kid provided a potent response in showing that he’s in fact back by scoring a goal and adding three assists in the Penguins’ 5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

It was Crosby’s third four-point night in 18 games this season, and it came on the heels of a two-game points drought in which the Penguins dropped consecutive games to the New York Islanders.

“He’s the greatest thing I’ve ever seen,” Penguins goalie Brent Johnson said. “Coming back the way he has is just fantastic. He’s priceless.”

Steve Sullivan had a goal and two assists, and Pascal Dupuis set up two to extend his points streak to an NHL season-best 13 games, in which he has nine goals and eight assists.

Evgeni Malkin added a goal and assist in helping Pittsburgh (48-24-6) move four points ahead of fifth-place Philadelphia in the East.

“It’s not as easy as just having one game and thinking you’re there, it’s a process,” Crosby said. “You just try to take everything in stride, whether you have a good one or a bad one and try to get better.”

Crosby became the NHL’s seventh youngest player to reach the 600-point plateau, and he did it in the seventh-fewest games. Crosby now has 220 goals and 381 assists in 430 career games.