DALLAS — Sidney Crosby took part in another dueling hat tricks game with a Russian opponent 16 years after his memorable one in the playoffs against Alex Ovechkin.
Crosby finished off his hat trick with an empty-netter to seal the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 5-3 victory at the Dallas Stars on Saturday after Evgenii Dadonov also scored three goals.
Crosby and Ovechkin each had a had trick in Game 2 of the Penguins’ 2009 playoff series against the Washington Capitals, one of several meetings between the longtime rivals who were also faces of the sport for a long time after debuting in 2015.
This one came less than 24 hours after Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record. Crosby brushed off any connection between his scoring and Ovechkin’s milestone, which he called “really, really special.”
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“I think like everyone else, we knew it was a matter of time and obviously a pretty cool night,” Crosby said. “For us, it was nice to come out here and get a win.”
Crosby’s third goal gave him 30 for a 13th time in 20 NHL seasons. Dadonov is one away from reaching 20 goals.
For Dallas, the loss to a non-contender from the Eastern Conference may loom large later this month when playoff seeding in finalized. The Stars are chasing the Winnipeg Jets for the Central Division title, and remain four points out of first place. Should they remain in second place, the Stars would likely draw the Colorado Avalanche in Round 1.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
