NEW YORK, 9 November 2005 — Sidney Crosby was a hit in his first appearance on Broadway, scoring a goal to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday.
Team owner Mario Lemieux and Zigmund Palffy also scored as the rebounding Penguins notched their third win in four games after opening the season with a franchise-worst nine straight defeats.
Ryan Hollweg, with his first career goal, and Marcel Hossa found the back of the net for the Rangers.
The first pick in the 2005 NHL draft, Crosby continues to live up to the immense hype that has surrounded the rookie’s arrival in the NHL, grabbing the spotlight in his Madison Square Garden debut with an energetic performance that earned him his fifth goal of the season and the games first star.
“He (Crosby) is our best player, night-in and night-out, that’s incredible,” Lemieux said. “He just keeps getting better.” And so are the Penguins.
Lemieux staked Pittsburgh to an early 1-0 lead with the only goal of the first period then made it 2-0 late in the second when Crosby took a feed from Rick Jackman, charged down the slot and beat Rangers netminder Kevin Weekes.
Palffy increased the Pittsburgh advantage to 3-0 with his sixth goal of the season early in the third, the Penguins then held on as the Rangers rallied for a pair of goals.
In Calgary, Dion Phaneuf scored the game-winning goal with less than three minutes remaining as the Flames rallied to beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3.
Jerome Iginla, Chuck Kobasew, Roman Hamrlki also scored for the Flames who had trailed 2-1 after two periods.
Markus Naslund had a pair of goals for the Canucks.
In Dallas, Marty Turco made 16 saves to collect his first shutout of the season as the Stars blanked the Edmonton Oilers 4-0.
Mike Modano, with his seventh of the season, Jussi Jokinen, Junior Lessard and Stephane Robidas each had a goal for the Stars, extending the winning streak to three games.
Neely, Kharlamov Inducted Into Hockey Hall of Fame
Meantime, Boston Bruins power forward Cam Neely and the prolific Soviet goal scorer Valeri Kharlamov were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday.
Neely, who had his career cut short by injuries, collected 395 goals and 299 assists in 726 regular-season games.
But it was not so much Neely’s modest statistics as the bruising way he played the game that earned him a place in the hockey shrine.
A rugged forward with a blue-collar work ethic, Neely had a knack for scoring when it mattered most, collecting 55 playoff gaols.
“It’s great to be recognized for the way I played the game,” offered an emotional Neely.
“It’s not strictly about goals and assists.
“It meant as much to me to give a big hit as it did to score a big goal and to leave a mark for being that kind of player is special to me.” Considered one of the greatest pure goal scorers of all-time, Kharlamov led the “Big Red Machine,” as Soviet teams were known, to eight world championship titles and two Olympic gold medals.
Killed along with his wife in a car crash in 1981, Kharlamov’s son was on hand at the award ceremony to accept the inductee’s ring on behalf of his father.
