Sidney Crosby realizes he won’t likely be playing meaningful contests later this month when the NHL’s postseason begins.

But the Pittsburgh Penguins’ captain professes another pursuit worthy of his team’s attention in the final games of the regular season.

“Just having the right mindset,” Crosby said in Cranberry on Saturday. “Even if you give up the first goal, if you’re down, you have to continue to play the right way. … It’s got to come from us. We have to find a way to play hard for one another and play the right way, try to get some wins.

Crosby reinforced that ideal in a major way on Sunday as he scored the only goal in a 1-0 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators at PPG Paints Arena.

It was his 27th goal of the season and it came during a power-play sequence at 1:16 in the overtime period.

That score also secured Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry’s first shutout of what has been a challenging season for the would-be franchise goaltender.

Stopping 31 shots, Jarry improved his record to 13-11-5.

“Obviously, you wish it was a little sooner,” Jarry quipped regarding the shutout. “But I think to be able to get that and just to be able to climb, it’s good. It’s good for me and I think it’s good for the team just to play that way and be able to shut a game out like that.”

Jarry received a fair amount of help in that regard as the Penguins offered a much stouter defensive effort on Sunday compared to their their past two games, each of which they surrendered at least a touchdown’s worth of goals to the opposition.

On Tuesday, they suffered a 6-1 road loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning then followed that up on Thursday with a 7-3 setback against the host Buffalo Sabres.

Crosby suggested his team’s puck management led to more sound defense.

“Probably (limiting) turnovers,” Crosby said. “We did a better job with reloading a little better, not giving up odd-man rushes. Then zone time both ways, I thought we were pretty good getting out of our end for the most part. Then possessing the puck ourselves. At both ends of the ice, that kind of contributed to it.”

Also contributing to the triumph were rookie wingers Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen, the latter of whom made his NHL debut.

McGroarty, who turned 21 on Sunday, opened the contest on the first line and logged 16:57 of ice time on 25 shifts and had three shots on five attempts.

Koivunen, acquired in a trade that sent All-Star forward Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes almost 13 months ago, skated on the second line and logged 17:28 on 25 shifts while firing two shots on seven attempts.

“It was very good,” Koivunen said. “Of course, it was fun to win. And, yeah, it’s just pretty exciting the whole game. I was pretty happy.”

Everyone with a vested interest in the Penguins was happy with how Crosby completed the game.

Operating with the expanse offered during a four-on-three power-play sequence, Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson accepted a pass above Ottawa’s left circle and coolly coasted to the high slot before he offloaded the puck to the right circle. Backpedaling slightly, Crosby dropped the hammer on a one-timer that beat goaltender Anton Forsberg’s glove on the near side. Karlsson and forward Rickard Rakell had assists.

“Just a nice pass from (Karlsson),” Crosby said. “He put it on a tee. When you’re that close and you have a look, I wanted to make good on it. So, it was a good play by him.”

The Penguins would prefer to play this way for whatever remains of their season.

“Ultimately, that’s why we’re playing the game,” Crosby said. “It’s way more fun when you win, and we have to find a way to bring a consistent effort.”

Notes:

• Notes, the Penguins snapped a six-game losing streak (0-3-3) against the Senators. That was their longest active losing streak against any specific opponent.

That designation now goes to a four-game skid (0-4-0) against the Dallas Stars.

• The Penguins went just over 11 years between regular season overtime wins against the Senators. Forward James Neal scored the winner - cleaning up the rebound from a shot by defenseman Robert Bortuzzo - against goaltender Craig Anderson in a 2-1 victory at Consol Energy Center, Feb. 3, 2014.

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• Jarry’s most recent shutout came in a 6-0 road win against the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 10, 2024. He made 31 saves in that effort.

• The Penguins’ most recent shutout of the Senators came in a 2-0 road win on Feb. 10, 2022. Goaltender Casey DeSmith made 26 saves in the victory.

• Crosby has a 10-game scoring streak (eight goals, seven assists).

• Koivunen became the eighth player to wear No. 41 in a game of consequence for the Penguins. His predecessors (via PittsburghHockey.net):

Shane Endicott, Jocelyn Thibault, Nathan Smith, Martin Skoula, Robert Bortuzzo, Daniel Sprong, Josh Currie

• Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin was scratched for the third consecutive game due to an undisclosed injury. Malkin and P.O Joseph, currently designated to injured reserve due to an unspecified ailment, skated Sunday morning.

• Penguins forwards Boko Imama (bicep injury) Tommy Novak (undisclosed injury) and defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok (healthy) were also scratched.