PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby hadnt scored at home in four months. Nike Air Force 1 Rød . One brilliant sequence ended the drought. The Pittsburgh star intercepted a pass, pirouetted around a pair of New Jersey defencemen, broke in all alone on Martin Brodeur and flipped a wrist shot into the back of the net to thwart a Devils rally early in the third period in the Penguins 5-2 victory Sunday night. "Its not unlike Sidney Crosby to do that," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. Crosbys last goal at Consol Energy Center came in his electric season debut on Nov. 21. He played just eight games before heading to injured reserve when concussion-like symptoms resurfaced and missed more than three months. Though hed been steady since his return on March 15 -- picking up nine assists in his first five games -- he didnt score his third goal of the year until Saturday, the lone bright spot in an 8-4 loss to Ottawa. The Penguins knew they needed to rebound quickly to keep pace with the New York Rangers in the battle for the Eastern Conference crown. When Ilya Kovalchuks goal 3:37 into the third period cut Pittsburghs lead to 3-2, Crosby went to work. Flashing the speed and creativity that made him arguably the best player in the world before sustaining a debilitating concussion in January 2011, Crosbys fourth goal of the year deflated the Devils. "That hurts a little bit when you do make it 3-2, you get some life and they get one back," New Jerseys Zach Parise said. "That was frustrating." Evgeni Malkin chipped in an empty-net goal and an added assist for the Penguins to push his points total to 97, tops in the NHL. Pittsburgh has won 10 straight at Consol Energy Center and moved back within a point of the Rangers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining. "We knew it was going to be a tough game," Crosby said. "We did some good things. I still think we got better, which is a good thing. To bounce back that way after giving up eight goals and not playing the way we wanted to was important." Brodeur made 23 saves, but couldnt stop the slumping Devils from falling to 1-3-1 in their last five games. "You want to get into the playoffs as soon as possible and you want to get in feeling good about yourself and not just dogging it in," Brodeur said. "Were doing a lot of good things. Weve had a rough patch but weve played some really good hockey teams lately." Marc-Andre Fleury made it stand up to pick up his NHL-leading 41st victory to move within one win of tying Tom Barrassos franchise mark of 226. The Penguins needed Fleury to be sharp after arguably their worst game in three months. Pittsburgh saw its chase of the Rangers hit a speed bump on Saturday, when Ottawa torched backup goaltender Brad Thiessen. The loss, coupled with New Yorks comeback win over Toronto put the Penguins three points back of the Rangers and just two ahead of Philadelphia in the jumbled Atlantic Division. The Devils threatened to make it a four-team race division and conference title but have stumbled over the last week and are now trying to hold onto the sixth spot in the conference, which would present a favourable first-round matchup with the Southeast Division winner, likely Florida. Yet New Jersey looks vulnerable at the moment and even its star goalie isnt immune. The Penguins took the lead just 64 seconds in thanks to some sloppy stickhandling by Brodeur. He gathered the puck behind the net and was attempting a pass when Malkin swooped in and stole the puck then whipped a pass to Chris Kunitz, who fired it into a wide-open net. "I didnt really see (Malkin) coming and when I looked down at the puck it really wasnt where I thought it was," Brodeur said. "I got handcuffed there." Pittsburgh quickly repaid the gift, with Crosby turning it over deep in his own end with Fleury badly out of position. Parise jumped on the mistake to knot things at 1. It remained tied until late in the period when Jordan Staal used his reach to collect a pass from Matt Cooke and sneak a wrist shot by Brodeur to make it 2-1. Pascal Dupuis pushed it to 3-1 in the second after he pounced on a rebound, extending his points streak to a career-best 10 games, the longest active streak in the league. Kovalchuks goal only made it interesting for a moment. Crosbys score pushed it two before Malkin added an empty-netter late to give him 46 on the season, one off his career-high. NOTES: The teams split their six games against each other this season, finishing with a 3-3 record. ... Pittsburgh scratched forward Steve Sullivan, who left the Ottawa game with an injury coach Dan Bylsma called "short-term." ... The Penguins begin a home-and-home set on Tuesday night when they host the New York Islanders. The Devils start a two-game homestand Tuesday against Chicago. Nike Juvenate Dame .5 million. Bolland played just 23 games last season in his first year with the Toronto Maple Leafs after an ankle injury suffered early in the season. Asics Løbesko Herre . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace.ROME - Canadian Milos Raonic defeated Italys Simone Bolelli 6-3, 7-6 (5) in second-round play Tuesday at the Italian Open. Raonic, the No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., had 18 aces in the match. He needed one hour 39 minutes to complete the victory. Also Tuesday, Novak Djokovic marked his return from a right wrist injury by beating Czech veteran Radek Stepanek 6-3, 7-5, while Italian hope Andreas Seppi complained about a decisive time violation in a loss to Tommy Haas. With both new coach Boris Becker and longtime adviser Marian Vajda on hand, Djokovic showed no signs of pain after withdrawing from last weeks Madrid Open. The second-ranked Serbs only trouble came as he attempted to close the match out, dropping his serve twice late in the second set before eventually finishing it off. "I expected to be a little bit rusty on the court, the conditions didnt help, but generally it was a good win," Djokovic said, alluding to the swirling wind inside the Foro Italico stadium. "Im happy with that and hope to elevate my performance in the next one." Djokovic, a two-time Rome champion, committed just nine unforced errors to Stepaneks 27. It was a sharp contrast from Djokovics last match, when he lost to Roger Federer in the Monte Carlo Masters semifinals last month, when he had his wrist heavily strapped and was unable to serve or return at his usual level. Also advancing was Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka, who routed Spanish qualifier Pere Riba 6-0, 6-3. In first-round action, the 15th-seeded Haas overcame Seppi 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. The 34th-ranked Seppi couldnt believe it when he received his second time violation while serving at 3-3, 30-40 in the third set, folllowing his first serve. Nike Air Force 1 Sort Dame. . The second violation results in a serve being taken away, which meant a double fault for Seppi and he then went on to lose the final three games. "Ive never received a time violation in my life," he said. "I was just waiting because the fans were making a bit of noise. ... Its scandalous. ... And the first one was for nothing, too. (Haas) hit a drop shot and I had to walk back to get the balls. It was really uncalled for." In first-round womens play, Italian wild-card entry Camila Giorgi upset ninth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 7-6 (2) in a match delayed briefly due to rain; 10th-seeded Sara Errani of Italy eliminated Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 7-5, 6-3; and 13th-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro eased past Mona Barthel 6-2, 6-2. There was also an upset in the second round, as Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic rallied past seventh-seeded Angelique Kerber 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. The 22-year-old Giorgi, who reached the round of 16 at the U.S. Open last year as a qualifier, showed off her attacking game, stepping into the court to whip winners into the corners at every opportunity. Making her Rome main-draw debut, Giorgi had loud support on the picturesque Pietrangeli court, which is lined with neo-classical statues. "The pressure is positive. Its great that the fans come to see you," Giorgi said. "Playing at home happens only once per year." This tournament is the last key clay-court warmup before the French Open, which starts in two weeks. Seven-time champion Rafael Nadal, Federer and womens title-holder Serena Williams open play Wednesday. ___ Follow Andrew Dampf at http://twitter.com/asdampf Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
