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Crosby, Penguins drill Oilers

Dec 6, 2007 - 6:45 AM EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- For two periods, Sidney Crosby was relegated to the role of a bystander. In the third period, the reigning Hart Trophy winner was the life of the party.

Playing in first professional game in Western Canada, Crosby assisted on three of his team's four third-period goals as the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.

Thanks to an unbalanced schedule after the 2004-05 lockout, Crosby has played 186 regular-season games - but none at the homes of the NHL's three western Canadian hockey teams until Wednesday.

With Edmonton enjoying a 2-0 lead after two periods, Maxime Talbot, Kris Letang, Colby Armstrong and Ryan Whitney scored goals to propel Pittsburgh to its fifth win in six games.

"We just executed," Crosby said of the Penguins' third-period play. "You look at the first two (periods), we weren't skating on plays well.

"What I think it comes down to is execution, and I think we did a good job of taking advantage of the opportunities we had."

Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish, however, saw it from the opposite perspective.

"It boils down to a couple of fundamental plays that we should have executed and we didn't, and (Crosby) exposed us. That's the game in a nutshell," MacTavish said. "When the game's on the line, you've got to make those plays. If you don't make them, you're not going to win."

The loss snapped Edmonton's modest three-game winning streak and prevented the Oilers from evening their record for the first time this season.

Talbot halved the deficit for the Penguins just 6:05 into the third, diving on the ice while pushing the puck past goaltender Dwayne Roloson.

Then Crosby made his presence felt, setting up the final three goals.

Just 21 seconds after Talbot's tally, Crosby fed Armstrong, who alertly found Letang in the slot. The rookie defenseman then fired a shot past Roloson to level the game.

Armstrong, who is from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead 4 1/2 minutes later.

Crosby skated out from behind the net and alertly found blue-liner Mark Eaton above the left faceoff circle. Eaton then sent a shot on goal, which Armstrong deflected past Roloson at 10:57 for his third of the season.

"I didn't expect (to have two points), but it was great," Armstrong said. "My aunt and uncle are here, my parents (and) my sister. It was a good feeling to do that here, and it was my first time playing here, too."

Whitney provided the Penguins with some insurance 3 1/2 minutes afterward, again after a feed from Crosby.

"It's like a shark smelling blood in the water," MacTavish said of Crosby's play in the third period. "You give him an opportunity, he's going to put it in the back of the net."

The crowd gave Crosby an appreciative greeting before the game and cheered his accomplishments during it.

"It's great to come on the road and get a welcome like that," said Crosby, who is a native of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. "You never expect it, so it's nice."

Robert Nilsson opened the scoring just 5:39 into the first period, blasting a one-timer over the shoulder of netminder Marc-Andre Fleury for his second goal of the season.

Edmonton doubled its advantage when Shawn Horcoff accepted a feed from Ales Hemsky and buried a one-timer over Fleury's shoulder with 2:38 left in the middle session for his 12th tally.

The goal extended Horcoff's points streak to five games - the longest by an Oiler this season.

Fleury finished with 17 saves, while Roloson stopped 27 shots.