Sidney Crosby’s hat trick lifts Pittsburgh Penguins over Columbus Blue Jackets for fifth straight win

NEW DELHI: Sidney Crosby’s outstanding performance, including a hat trick and an assist, led the Pittsburgh Penguins to their fifth consecutive victory with a 5-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.Crosby extended his point streak to nine games, opening the scoring in the first period at 4:10 with a goal set up by Marcus Pettersson. Kirill Marchenko equalized for the Blue Jackets at 10:29 of the first, but Crosby’s brilliance continued throughout the game.Yegor Chinakhov gave the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead in the first period, scoring with 31 seconds left. However, Jake Guentzel leveled the score at 2-2 in the second period, assisted by Crosby.In the third period, Erik Karlsson’s powerful one-timer from the left circle gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead at 8:40. Alexandre Texier responded for the Blue Jackets, tying the game once more at 11:45 of the third.Crosby took charge again, deflecting in a pass from Karlsson near the right post at 14:27 of the third to make it 4-3. He completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal with 36.1 seconds left in the game.The win extended the Penguins’ dominance over the Blue Jackets, as they are now 9-0-1 in their past 10 meetings. Goaltender Tristan Jarry made 28 saves for Pittsburgh, securing their fifth straight victory.The Blue Jackets, on the other hand, suffered their sixth consecutive loss (0-4-2). Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins made 36 saves in the defeat.The Penguins will look to continue their winning streak as they face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, while the struggling Blue Jackets aim to bounce back against the St. Louis Blues on the same day.(With Reuters inputs)