When it was revealed in February that he would be sidelined for several weeks because of a presumed right leg injury he suffered while skating for Canada in the Olympics, Sidney Crosby was bullish on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ hopes.
And his teammates largely validated his optimism by going 5-3-3 in the 11 games he missed while recovering.
Upon his return to the lineup Wednesday, the Penguins erased a one-goal deficit four times but were unable to fully maintain that trajectory as they were defeated by the Carolina Hurricanes, 6-5, in overtime, at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C.
Defenseman Sean Walker’s seventh goal of the season at 4 minutes, 31 seconds of the overtime period was the difference.
Formally activated from injured reserve Wednesday afternoon, Crosby opened the contest in his customary station as the first-line center, recording a goal and an assist.
“Definitely some rust, but just gotta find a way to … adapt as soon as possible,” Crosby told reporters in Raleigh via audio provided by the team. “Every game is so big. To come back at this point in the year, you’ve got to find a way to get that timing and to make sure that my game is where it needs to be.”
Wednesday’s loss against the top team in the Metropolitan Division came less than a month after Crosby suggested his team would remain resilient while he convalesced.
“I’m confident,” Crosby said Feb. 25. “We’ve shown all year we’ve had injuries and guys have stepped up. To get to where we are at this point, it’s because of our team play.”
The Penguins are in second place in the division, eight points behind Carolina and one point ahead of the New York Islanders.
Goaltender Stuart Skinner unofficially made 38 saves on 44 shots as his record slipped to 20-13-9.
The Penguins fell victim to a common nuisance as they surrendered their 10th short-handed goal of the season 9:34 into regulation. For forward Jordan Martinook, it was his 10th goal of 2025-26.
Crosby tied the score with his team-best 28th goal at 9:57 of the second period.
Chasing down a puck dumped into Carolina’s end boards, Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield was mashed into the wall by forechecking Penguins forward Rickard Rakell. As he fell to the ice, Rakell guided the puck to the front of the crease, where an opportunistic Crosby tucked a clever backhand through goaltender Fredrik Andersen’s five hole.
Forward Jackson Blake’s 20th goal restored a lead for the Hurricanes at 16:51 of the second frame, just as a power-play opportunity for Carolina expired.
The teams exchanged goals like gift cards throughout the third period, starting with Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson’s eighth during a five-on-three power-play sequence only 59 seconds into the frame.
Forward Taylor Hall reclaimed a lead for the Hurricanes with his 15th goal at 3:27 of the third frame.
The Penguins persisted as forward Bryan Rust scored his 26th goal with a determined effort at 7:16 of the third period.
Stealing a puck off Jaccob Slavin in the Penguins’ zone, Rust generated his own breakaway and tucked a backhander through Andersen’s five hole.
Forward Logan Stankoven struck with his 14th goal during a power-play sequence at 12:59 of the third.
Karlsson scored again at the 14:46 mark to forge another tie.
Deking Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho out of his undergarments at Carolina’s right point, Karlsson cut toward the high slot through a phalanx of bodies and put a shot past Andersen’s blocker on the far side.
Rookie forward Ben Kindel’s 17th goal supplied the Penguins with their first lead of the contest only 23 seconds later.
Just inside the Penguins’ blue line, defenseman Ilya Solovyov broke up a pass attempt by Blake and chipped it to the neutral zone. Penguins forward Anthony Mantha claimed the puck and rushed into Carolina’s zone on the left wing, creating a two-on-one rush with Kindel against defenseman Mike Reilly. As Reilly struggled to read the play, Mantha centered a pass to an open Kindel, who attacked down the slot and ripped a wrister past Andersen’s glove.
Hurricanes defenseman K’Andre Miller wasn’t interested in going down without a fight and scored his fifth goal at the 17:09 mark to force overtime.