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Sidney Crosby, Penguins remain hot with win over Devils; Pittsburgh now sits alone atop NHL standings

Sidney Crosby, Johan Hedberg

Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby (87) scores past New Jersey Devils goalie Johan Hedberg in the second period of the NHL hockey game, Monday, Dec. 6, 2010 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

AP

Thanks to a 2-1 win over their former divisional tormentors from New Jersey, the Pittsburgh Penguins are now on a 10 game winning streak for the first time since a stretch between January 28 and February 15 of 1999. Perhaps the only thing more impressive than the team’s stretch is Sidney Crosby’s personal scoring streak; he now has at least a point in 16 consecutive games (18 goals and 15 assists for 33 points).

His career high is a 19 game streak, which happened during the 2007-08 season.

Pittsburgh 2, New Jersey 1

Brian Rolston began the scoring in the game for the hard-luck Devils, who are now on a three game skid. Crosby assisted on a Chris Kunitz goal in the second period to tie the game up before earning the game winner just under 13 minutes into the third. (Kunitz was the other star in this one for the Pens, as he earned a helper on Crosby’s game winner.)

It was a great night of goaltending from both sides, as Marc-Andre Fleury reached a new career high with his ninth win in a row by making 27 out of 28 saves while former Penguins goalie Johan Hedberg was strong in his own right, stopping 32 out of 34 shots. The Devils have plenty of issues right now, but Hedberg is doing his best to help New Jersey at least be competitive.

Since losing two games in a row to begin the month of November, the Penguins are now on an astonishing 13-1-1 run in their last 15 games. Pittsburgh now stands atop both the Eastern Conference and the NHL standings with 40 points because the Washington Capitals coughed up a lead and lost in a shootout to the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. Washington is close behind with 39 points while the Detroit Red Wings sit at 37 points with four games in hand, so the Penguins still have a long way to go before they should start thinking about the Presidents Trophy.

Meanwhile, the Devils and Islanders trade self-inflicted blows to see which team will be crowned the worst team in the league.