NHL Note - Pittsburgh Penguins Crosby, Sidney

Oct 15, 2017 - 8:35 AM C Sidney Crosby joked that he wished the pass from Kris Letang that set up Pittsburgh's winning goal Saturday night wouldn't have come in high so he wouldn't have had to bat it out of the air.

"I was hoping he was going to leave it on the ice, but he lifted it," Crosby said while grinning after the Penguins' 4-3 victory over the Florida Panthers at PPG Paints Arena.

Crosby, flashing his expert stick control, swung and put a strong change-of-direction whack on the puck from near the left post, and it bounced in off Panthers goaltender James Reimer for a 4-2 lead at 1:59 of the third period that held up.

It was Crosby's second goal of the game. His first came on a more routine deflection, also from near the left post.

Crosby's deciding goal moved him into a tie for the team lead with eight points. He has at least one point in five of Pittsburgh's six "I think he's the best in the game in and around that net, in close, just as far as getting his stick on shots coming in, pulling the puck out of people's feet and having the skill to be able to get pucks over goaltenders," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.

"He's just so good in that area. A lot of it speaks to his skill level, but it's also his determination. He's in the battle areas all the time."