Jose Iglesias Pours Salt In Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day Loss Wound

By Marty Leap
https://rumbunter.com/2019/03/29/jose-iglesias-pours-salt-pittsburgh-pirates-opening-day-loss-wound/
March 29, 2019


Cincinnati Reds’ Jose Iglesias hits an RBI double off Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jameson Taillon in the second inning, Thursday, in Cincinnati. - AP Photo/Gary Landers

On Thursday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates started their 2019 regular season at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. The Pirates were defeated by their divisional rival Reds 5-3 to start their season with an 0-1 record.

In the loss, a player that was only in the lineup due to an injury to Cincinnati second baseman Scooter Gennett helped to sink the Bucs. With the Gennett injury, starting shortstop Jose Peraza has temporarily moved to second base for the Reds. This opened the door at shortstop for veteran Jose Iglesias.

Iglesias signed a minor league contract with the Reds on February 23rd. It was surprise to see Iglesias have to wait so long to get a contract, and it was an even bigger surprise for him to have to settle for a minor league contract. Despite his offensive shortcomings, Iglesias is one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball that has been worth an average of 2.1 fWAR the past five seasons.

It is no secret that the Pirates entered the offseason with a major whole at shortstop. Outside of adding the light hitting, largely unknown Erik Gonzalez the team failed to address shortstop in the offseason. With no other moves made, Gonzalez has become the team’s starting shortstop.

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Even Penguins might not have known what they got in Jared McCann

By Tim Benz
https://triblive.com/sports/tim-benz-even-penguins-might-not-have-known-what-they-got-in-jared-mccann/
March 29, 2019

Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers makes the first period save as Jared McCann #19 of the Pittsburgh Penguins looks for the rebound at Madison Square Garden on March 25, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

If you weren’t aware of what the Penguins were getting from the Panthers when they acquired Jared McCann as part of the Derick Brassard trade, don’t worry.

It appears they may not have been fully aware, either.

Obviously, Jim Rutherford had at least a hope that McCann could be productive. Otherwise, the Penguins’ general manager wouldn’t have asked for the 22-year-old forward to be included in the deal that also yielded Nick Bjugstad.

But beyond Rutherford and his scouting staff, McCann appears to have been a little-known commodity to his new coach and new teammates.

“Just from playing (Florida) a couple of times, you have some familiarity with his game,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “But not in any sort of detail.”

Here are the details since McCann arrived in Pittsburgh:

• Eleven goals and 16 points in 27 games as a Penguin since being acquired in late January.

• None of those goals has come on the power play. Three have been short-handed. The rest have been at even strength.

• A shooting percentage of 18.6, best on the Penguins among players with at least 50 shots.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said at least some of McCann’s positive traits were evident when he was an opponent with Florida.

“I didn’t know a whole lot about him, just playing against him a little bit,” Crosby said. “But his shot seemed to stand out. His speed. He was a good skater.”

McCann has played mostly wing since coming to town. He jumped up on Sidney Crosby’s line after Bryan Rust got hurt. Since Rust’s return March 17, which coincided with Evgeni Malkin’s injury, McCann has been slotted into a left-wing position with Teddy Blueger at center and Phil Kessel on the right side.

“I’ll be honest,” Sullivan said, “when we first got them, we envisioned Jared playing that third-line center role and Nick playing on the wing in the top-six capacity. It’s worked out to this point that roles have been reversed. But they’ve both embraced it and done extremely well.”

As mentioned by Crosby, McCann’s shot and speed frequently have been discussed in the Penguins’ locker room as having a sneaky “plus” quality. Freeing up those talents to impact the team may be the result of necessity being the mother of invention thanks to Rust’s injury, which kept him sidelined for about three weeks in early March.

At that point, the Penguins decided to dot in McCann at the wing. That’s when he had a conversation with Penguins assistant coach Mark Recchi.

“When I got switched to the wing, they told me to use my speed a little bit more,” McCann said Thursday. “I feel like once I get going, I can move pretty well. So I just try to shoot the puck and skate as hard as I can for my linemates and get open for them.”

Sullivan seems to think McCann’s positive qualities are best highlighted on a wing position.

“We encouraged him to shoot the puck,” Sullivan said. “The one thing about Jared on the wing is that we feel like we can leverage his speed a little bit more. If our center icemen can get him the puck out on the wing with some speed, then he can challenge defensemen, he can get some separation to shoot the puck and we encourage him to shoot the puck because he has shown the capacity to score.”

Sullivan said the trickle-down effect is that Bjugstad also has fit nicely in the third-line center job vacated by Brassard. In 2016, the Penguins got a Stanley Cup run boost from elevating the likes of Rust, Conor Sheary and Tom Kuhnhackl. In 2017, that pop came from Jake Guentzel.

Perhaps this year, that energy can be provided by two guys elevated to more significant roles from outside the organization in Bjugstad and McCann.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@tribweb.com or viaTwitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

Categories: Sports | Penguins | Tim Benz Breakfast With

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Pirates Preview: Starling Marte And The 4 Other Players Who Will Define Pittsburgh's Season

By John Perrotto
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnperrotto/2019/03/28/pittsburgh-pirates-mlb-season-preview/#9df0e446d0ab
March 28, 2019

The Pittsburgh Pirates decided little action was the best course of action over the winter.

The Pirates made few moves following a 2018 season in which they finished a surprising 82-79. A winning record was unexpected after stars Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole were traded a month before the start of spring training.

Owner Bob Nutting also influenced the lack of transactions as he gave general manager Neal Huntington a limited budget. the Pirates will open this season with a $75-million payroll after finishing last season at $89 million.

Nevertheless, manager Clint Hurdle believes the Pirates can contend in the rugged National League Central.

“I am pleased with the effort and energy the players brought,” Hurdle said on the last day of spring training. “The vibe has been consistent from these guys. They have been focused and their work has been consistent. They have been having fun, as well. I think this has been a well-run camp by the coaching staff. The players have showed up professionally. We’re ready to go and get after it.”

Team MVP: Starling Marte

Center fielder Starling Marte provides a blend of power and speed and was also a two-time NL Gold Glove winner when he played left field. Last season, the 30-year-old hit .277/.327/.460 with 20 home runs, 72 RBIs and 33 stolen bases in 145 games.

Best-Value Pitcher: Jameson Taillon

Right-hander Jameson Taillon will pitch at a low price this year as he does not become eligible for salary arbitration until following the season. The 27-year-old is making just over the major-league minimum salary of $555,000 even though he will start on opening day against the Reds on March 28 at Cincinnati.

Taillon had a breakout season in 2018 when he was 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings in 32 starts. If he pitches like that again, the Pirates will likely look to sign Taillon to a contract extension next spring. The talks could be contentious as Taillon is the team’s player representative to the Major League Baseball Players Association and likely not be willing to take much of a hometown discount.

Best-Value Position Player: Adam Frazier

Second baseman Adam Frazier will have a $584,000 salary, which is a low price for a leadoff hitter. Like Taillon, though, Frazier does not become eligible for salary arbitration for the first time until next offseason.

The 27-year-old is getting the opportunity to start after spending his first three seasons in a utility role. He hit .277/.342/.456 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs in 113 games last year.

Best Addition: Lonnie Chisenhall

Lonnie Chisenhall will be the fill-in right fielder until Gregory Polanco recovers from shoulder surgery, which will be likely sometime in May. The Pirates signed Chisenhall to a one-year, $2.75-million contract in free agency over the winter after the 30-year-old spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Cleveland Indians.

Last season, injuries to both calves limited Chisenhall to just 29 games. However, he was relatively productive in the little bit of time he was in the lineup, batting .321/.394/.452 with one home run and nine RBIs.

The X-Factor: Jung Ho Kang

Jung Ho Kang beat out incumbent Colin Moran for the starting third baseman’s job in spring training. It marked quite a comeback for Kang, who was limited to three major-league games over the last two years because legal issues stemming from a third DUI arrest in his native South Korea.

Kang hit seven home runs during the exhibition season and the Pirates could use the pop after finishing 25^th in the major leagues in that category last season. He turns 32 on April 5, so it will be interesting to see how he will hold up to the day-to-day grind after missing so much time.

Related: Best- And Worst-Case Scenarios For The Pirates

John also publishes a pair of direct-to-inbox newsletters, one covering MLB and the other the Pittsburgh Pirates, that are filled with insider news and gossip . Ordering info can be found here.

Pirates have some brights spots, but not nearly enough

By Chris Mueller
https://www.timesonline.com/sports/20190326/chris-mueller-pirates-have-some-brights-spots-but-not-nearly-enough
March 26, 2019


Jameson Taillon

If a baseball fan that happened to know nothing about the Pittsburgh Pirates were to evaluate their roster, they might like what they see. They might see real signs for optimism.

They would see Jameson Taillon, perhaps ready to blossom into a true ace, and say that he’s the kind of prototypical workhorse starting pitcher that could challenge for a Cy Young.

They would see Chris Archer, who in September finally started to deliver the kind of work that fans expected after he was acquired at the trade deadline, and see a potentially strong number two starter.

Finally, they’d look at Joe Musgrove and Trevor Williams and see a rotation with real, honest to god potential.

Throw in Keone Kela and Felipe Vazquez at the back end of the bullpen, and that random baseball fan might be tempted to make a bet on the Pirates to be very good this year.

These Pirates are long on potential, but short on sure things. It would be nice to have a lot more of the latter.

The Chicago Cubs have sure things, like Jon Lester, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant. The Milwaukee Brewers have sure things, like reigning National League MVP Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain. So too do the St. Louis Cardinals, in the form of newly acquired first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

Every one of those teams has been picked by the majority of the baseball world to finish ahead of the Pirates this season, and with good reason. All of them are better on paper.

In the case of Milwaukee and St. Louis, off-season acquisitions were a big part of the equation. The Brewers spent big to shore up their catching situation with Yasmani Grandal. The Cardinals gave up relatively little to get Goldschmidt, and in the process made their offense, fifth-best in runs in the National League last year, even better.

The Pirates? They’re hoping Lonnie Chisenhall can hold the fort until Gregory Polanco comes back, hoping that Jordan Lyles morphs into a competent fifth starter, and hoping that Josh Bell takes a massive step forward offensively. Oh, and they’re hoping that Erik Gonzalez resembles an everyday major leaguer at shortstop.

Whose chances do you like better?

Erik Gonzalez

As usual, it’s not what the Pirates did, or who they have, that is the story heading into the season. It’s what they didn’t do, what they don’t have, that grabbed all the headlines.

Dallas Keuchel is out there for any team to sign, and none has. The Pirates haven’t been a bidder for a guy that would become, at worst, their third-best starting pitcher. Jose Iglesias, a light-hitting, solid-fielding shortstop was available, but he’s now on Cincinnati.

There were upgrades available that were not pursued. It’s no secret why. Keuchel would cost a pretty penny, probably between $15 and $17 million per season, and he wants several seasons. He’s 31, one of the best sinker-ball pitchers in recent memory, and would probably thrive at pitcher-friendly PNC Park.

The point is, he’s worth the money. Eventually, someone will give it to him.

He wasn’t the only available starting pitcher—there were many others.

Iglesias’ services were secured for $2.5 million. Gonzalez will cost a fraction of that. Will he produce more than Iglesias does? Perhaps. But I’d bet on Iglesias.

The Bucs’ Opening Day payroll figures to come in in the neighborhood of $75 million. That, to put it plainly, is not good enough, nor is it particularly close.

The team can talk all it wants about the attention it is paying to players’ diets, to their sleep, to all sorts of little details in the margins. All of that is nice, but it stands to reason that everyone around baseball is doing things like that.

These Pirates, who won 82 games last year, which was something of a pleasant surprise to many, will be hard-pressed to match that feat in what looks to be a brutal NL Central.

If they do, it will be on the backs of young, mostly inexpensive talent. It will be because the team bet on the Jung Ho Kangs and Adam Fraziers of the world, and was rewarded.

They’re not close to the worst team in baseball, or at least they shouldn’t be. If everything breaks their way, they can challenge for a wild card. There are players who inspire genuine optimism, who give reason for hope.

Just not nearly enough of them.

Penguins’ Kris Letang should be Norris finalist lock

By Mark Madden

https://triblive.com/sports/mark-madden-penguins-kris-letang-should-be-norris-finalist-lock/

March 25, 2019

Kris Letang #58 of the Pittsburgh Penguins handles the puck against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center on March 23, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Penguins haven’t been cheated when it comes to individual awards. That especially goes for the awards you can’t get cheated out of, like the Art Ross Trophy. That goes to the NHL scoring champion. The Penguins have 15.

That’s not to say the Penguins never have been cheated.

Like in 1988-89, when Mario Lemieux had 199 points — 31 more points than Wayne Gretzky and 31 more goals, too. But Gretzky somehow got NHL MVP.

That’s not cheating. That’s grand larceny. It embarrasses to this day.

But the Penguins have seven MVPs, five playoff MVPs, two best rookies and one best defenseman. That’s a good haul.

But Kris Letang still doesn’t have a Norris Trophy for being the NHL’s best defenseman. He’s only been a finalist once, in 2013 when he finished third in the voting conducted annually by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

This season, Letang should be a lock to be a finalist.

Letang’s impact on the Penguins has been profound. His value is proven even more so when he’s injured. He’s got 16 goals, 40 assists and a plus-13 mark in 63 games. Letang’s advanced metrics show he creates more offense than all but a few defensemen.

But Letang is a long shot to be a finalist and likely has zero chance to win.

Injuries have worked against him and still do: Letang has missed 14 games this season, including last night’s at New York (upper-body injury). Front-runners Brent Burns of San Jose and Toronto’s Morgan Rielly have missed no games, Calgary’s Mark Giordano just two.

Letang plays on a team with hockey’s very biggest star and another who’s not far behind. That shouldn’t seep into the Norris reckoning, but it does.

At this point, ignoring Letang is habitual. Not only does he get short shrift for the Norris, but leaving him off Canada’s national team is practically a tradition.

But this season, Norris voters will look foolish if they disregard Letang.

Letang’s productivity, skating and physicality can’t be argued. He gambles offensively, but it rarely costs him defensively because of his speed. Some of the Norris favorites never hit. Letang does it regularly. He plays both ends with equal fanaticism.

If Letang has added any significant component to his game, it’s patience. When appropriate, Letang lets the game come to him and allows options to develop. That makes his style more precise and eliminates most mistakes.

At 31, Letang has matured into a defenseman who is steady, yet extremely impactful at both ends of the rink. Brian Dumoulin is a perfect partner for Letang given his sublime defensive instincts and general accountability.

Dumoulin would be worthy of a modicum of Norris consideration if the award had much to do with defense. But it mostly awards offensively capabilities — so much so that we occasionally get talk about a new award for “best defensive defenseman.”

Eight-time Norris winner Bobby Orr is the greatest defenseman ever. He changed hockey. But he also warped his position’s priorities.

Giordano seems the current favorite to win the Norris, and he should be. He’s got 72 points in 73 games and is a mammoth plus-37, second in the NHL. “Most valuable” isn’t necessarily supposed to enter into Norris voting, but Giordano’s performance has helped Calgary exceed the preseason expectations of most.

If Giordano doesn’t win, Rielly (68 points, plus-28 in 75 games) might get the nod because Toronto is hockey’s capital city — or so we’re told, again and again, whether it’s true or not.

The Penguins’ lone Norris winner is Randy Carlyle (1980-81).

In that season, Carlyle had 16 goals and 67 assists in 76 games. Carlyle was also minus-16. But the Penguins finished 30-37-13, so what do you expect? Carlyle quarterbacked Coach Eddie Johnston’s revolutionary “pick and roll” power play, which finished second in the NHL with 92 goals.

Carlyle is somehow not on the Penguins’ All-Time Team despite being the club’s only Norris recipient and a big contributor for six seasons. That should be rectified.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM 105.9.

Categories: Sports | Penguins | Mark Madden Columns

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03/25/19 Condensed Game: Penguins @ Rangers

Bush-league journalists descend on Steelers

By Mark Madden

https://triblive.com/sports/mark-madden-bush-league-journalists-descend-on-steelers/

March 23, 2019

Antonio Brown on ESPN

The Steelers and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took a PR hit when Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell checked out. Roethlisberger was eviscerated. GM Kevin Colbert was villainized. The piling on continues.

But, in the process, damage also got done to the concept of journalism. (Journalism has taken a beating for quite a while now.)

In Robert Klemko’s story at SI.com, ex-Steelers back Josh Harris accused Ben Roethlisberger of intentionally fumbling in 2014. That’s an incredibly serious allegation. Klemko readily gave Harris a platform to make it, but didn’t talk to anybody else in that huddle. That’s Journalism 101. But Klemko ignored it. Why?

Because it didn’t fit the narrative, that’s why.

Klemko’s intent was to write a hit piece on Roethlisberger. He only sought information that was a means to that end.

Klemko didn’t talk to center Maurkice Pouncey, who later debunked Harris’ fantastic accusation on Instagram.

Nor did Klemko speak with quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, who was on the headsets that day. Gradkowski used Instagram to post video of the play in question and did a blow-by-blow account describing why things went (accidentally) wrong.

The story was absolute bush-league nonsense. But it fulfilled Klemko’s intent.

Perhaps even more embarrassing was Le’Veon Bell’s interview with SI.com’s Jenny Vrentas. (What happened to the once-proud Sports Illustrated franchise?)

Bell told Vrentas that Roethlisberger didn’t get him the ball enough. Roethlisberger’s “personal preferences played a role,” Bell said.

When Bell says that, Vrentas has to push back for the sake of her own credibility. In Bell’s last season with the Steelers, he led the league in touches. So how did Roethlisberger’s “personal preferences” hold back Bell? Anyway, didn’t Bell sit out 2018, in part, to protect his body from too many touches?

But Vrentas didn’t push back. She just blithely let Bell continue his infomercial. Vrentas could not possibly have done a worse job.

Le'Veon Bell (Sports Illustrated)

That’s all that interview was: an infomercial for Bell. Just like Antonio Brown’s appearances on ESPN and HBO were infomercials for him.

Outlets like Sports Illustrated and ESPN are so eager to get interviews with big names like Bell and Brown that the subjects are put at zero risk. It’s all kid gloves. It’s negotiated by the agents and the athletes get the questions in advance.

Would Brown have sat down with ESPN if the interviewer had been Jeremy Schaap, known for his probing insight? Schaap did battle with Bobby Knight and won. Schaap wouldn’t sit there and lob softballs.

But Jeff Darlington would and did. Darlington nodded like a stooge when Brown absurdly said, “I don’t take any blame. I think I took responsibility for my situation. I didn’t point the finger. I didn’t make no one look bad.”

Brown takes responsibility for nothing. He won’t even pay for his daughter’s haircut. How do you let tripe like that slide by?

When you’re just glad to be there, that’s how.

Pouncey and Gradkowski, among others, have spoken out against the madness. Fox’s Skip Bayless said that the motivation provided makes Roethlisberger his pick to be NFL MVP. (That’s not far-fetched. Here’s betting Roethlisberger has a huge year.)

But Roethlisberger himself has been quiet.

That’s smart. The only way this ever dies down is if somebody shuts up.

It’s called taking the high road. Bell and Brown couldn’t find the high road with a state-of-the-art GPS. The slavering quasi-journalists who enabled the lies and treachery directed against Roethlisberger and the Steelers don’t know the directions, either.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM 105.9.

Categories: Sports | Steelers | Mark Madden Columns

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McCann scores twice to help Penguins hold off Stars

The Canadian Press

https://www.tsn.ca/mccann-scores-twice-to-help-penguins-hold-off-stars-3-2-1.1278653

March 23, 2019

Jared McCann #19, Kris Letang #58, Teddy Blueger #53 and the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate a goal against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center on March 23, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)

DALLAS — Jared McCann is pretty sure his pirouette wasn't as graceful as one might see from, say, Sidney Crosby.

The result was good enough for Pittsburgh.

McCann scored twice, including the go-ahead goal on a spinning short-handed play in the third period, and the Penguins beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 on Saturday night.

McCann has 11 goals in 26 games since coming over in a trade with Florida, and now leads the Penguins with three short-handed goals. He has four overall this season.

The Penguins stayed even with the New York Islanders for second place in the Metropolitan Division with 93 points, a point behind Washington. The Islanders currently hold the tiebreaker with a game in hand.

The Stars finished a five-game homestand with their fourth loss, three in regulation. Dallas holds the first wild card in the Western Conference by two points over Colorado with Minnesota a point behind the Avalanche.

Dallas was looking for its first lead after Jack Johnson was called for holding and the Penguins were just trying to clear the puck when Teddy Blueger poked it away fromJohn Klingberg at centre ice. McCann took the pass as he was spinning and flipped the puck over Anton Khudobin.

"I think I've seen Sid do that move a couple times," McCann said. "Obviously it's not as pretty when I do it."

No worries. The Pittsburgh star approved.

"You're thinking they could possibly get one on us," Crosby said. "To be able to just try to hold them off would have been great. Then to score one's a big boost. He was great all game but that was a pretty unbelievable goal."

Matt Murray, who made 29 saves, kept the Penguins in front by stopping a shot fromTyler Seguin and keeping the puck between his legs behind him as he was sprawled on the ice with Alexander Radulov trying to poke it into the net.

The Stars had a 6-on-4 advantage for the final 80 seconds after Bryan Rust was called for holding, but couldn't get one past Murray. Khudobin had 27 saves.

Matt Murray #30 of the Pittsburgh Penguins tends goal against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center on March 23, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)

"We had plenty of opportunities to score on a power play and tie it up coming down the stretch. And your best players got to lead you there," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. "Just like the credit when we beat Florida. They also got to be the guys that take ownership when things don't go well on the power play."

Jake Guentzel opened the scoring with his team-leading 38th goal for Pittsburgh in the first period. In the second, Phil Kessel stole a pass from Roman Polak behind the net and fed it to McCann for an easy tally. Kessel also assisted on Guentzel's goal.

The Stars scored two tying goals in the second. Seguin easily beat Murray on a cross-ice feed from Radulov barely a minute into the period. Andrew Cogliano pulled Dallas even at 2-2 with 80 seconds left by beating Murray in transition after taking a pass in stride from Klingberg.

"Letting up a short-handed today, probably shouldn't happen," Klingberg said. "But I feel like we still have a lot of confidence in this team and in this room. This time of year you've got to stay grounded emotionally, wins or losses."

NOTES: Stars D Jamie Oleksiak was a healthy scratch in his first game against Pittsburgh since the Penguins traded him back to Dallas in January. The Stars sent Oleksiak to the Penguins in December 2017. Both deals involved a fourth-round pick. ... Not long after scoring the game's first goal, Guentzel was stopped on a one-timer right in front of Khudobin. ... The Penguins had a goal waved off in the second period when Blueger was called for goalie interference after Erik Gudbranson's shot from outside the circle beat Khodobin.

UP NEXT

Penguins: Finish four-game trip Monday at the New York Rangers.

Stars: Start four-game Canadian swing Monday at Winnipeg.

___

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

03/23/19 Condensed Game: Penguins @ Stars

Crosby, Penguins beat Predators 2-1 in shootout

By Chip Cirillo

https://sports.yahoo.com/crosby-penguins-beat-predators-2-1-shootout-030759625--nhl.html

March 22, 2019

Sidney Crosby #87 celebrates a 2-1 shootout win with Matt Murray #30 of the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on March 21, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Late goals have hurt Pittsburgh lately. Sidney Crosby and the Penguins were able to reverse the trend Thursday night.

Crosby's goal in the shootout gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators, ending a three-game losing streak.

It was the third straight game that has gone past regulation for Pittsburgh, which lost 2-1 to Philadelphia in overtime on Sunday and 3-2 at Carolina in a shootout on Tuesday.

But Crosby came to the rescue this time.

''That's what he does for us,'' Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. ''I've run out of adjectives to describe Sid's play. He's a tremendous player and he's the ultimate competitor.''

Crosby, who has led Pittsburgh to three Stanley Cups, is fourth in the NHL with 93 points.

The Penguins center rifled a wrist shot into the left side of the net to beat Nashville's Pekka Rinne in the second round of the shootout.

Nashville's Ryan Johansen missed a shot wide in the first round before Pittsburgh's Matt Murray made saves on Ryan Ellis and Brian Boyle in the last two rounds.

Murray, who shut out Nashville in his previous two outings against the Predators, earned the win with 28 saves.

Pittsburgh has allowed eight goals in the final 3:01 of regulation or overtime since Feb. 23.

''I thought both goaltenders played really well,'' Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. ''You see the time ticking down, that's a huge goal (for Ellis), so it was good to get the point. I wish we had the puck a little more in overtime.''

Bryan Rust scored in regulation for the Penguins, who moved into a second-place tie with the New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division with 91 points each. Murray, who shut out Nashville in his previous two games against the Predators, made 27 saves.

Ryan Ellis scored for Nashville, which had its three-game winning streak snapped. Pekka Rinne made 32 saves in the loss as Nashville removed within two points behind first-place Winnipeg in the Central Division.

Rust gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead when he scored on a backhander at 5:57 of the second period. The left wing skated across the crease before firing the puck into an open net on Rinne's stick side for his career-high 18th goal.

Ellis tied it at 1 with a wrist shot that beat Murray to the near post with 3:01 left in regulation. It was Ellis' first goal since Feb. 5 against Arizona.

''Yeah, it was a bit of a knuckle puck and I just didn't squeeze tight enough,'' Murray said.

Pittsburgh improved to 133-1-6 when leading after two periods since the start of the 2015-16 season, best in the NHL during that stretch.

NOTES: The Penguins have scored only five goals in the last four games. ... Penguins LW Adam Johnson, 24, made his NHL debut. He was paired with C Matt Cullen and RW Garrett Wilson on the fourth line. Johnson was Wilkes-Barres/Scranton's second-leading scorer with 40 points in the AHL. ... This was the first of two meetings between the teams who meet again at Pittsburgh on March 29. ... Nashville's power play entered the game ranked 30th out of 31 NHL teams.

UP NEXT

Pittsburgh: Visits Dallas on Saturday.

Nashville: Visits Winnipeg on Saturday in a showdown of the Central Division's top teams.