However, the 5–2 loss could have ended worse for home team Colorado, which prior to last night's meeting had won six straight games. Aleksandr Georgiyev made a big play in the Colorado cage, especially in the second period when Pittsburgh got 21 shots on goal against Colorado's nine.

In total, the Russian goalkeeper made 40 saves.

The first period did not pay dividends for either team.

At the start of the second, however, Pittsburgh's big star Sidney Crosby was able to start the scoring.

"It was nice to get that first goal in, so we were able to build on that," Crosby said after the game.

Crosby's 1–0 not only caused Pittsburgh's goaltending to come off, with the goal he also wrote himself into the club's and NHL's record books.

"Shows I've been playing in the league for a while"

He is now the second Pittsburgh player, after Mario Lemieux, who eleven times has scored more than 30 goals in a season.

He's also the only one in the NHL to have had his first 30-goal season as an 18-year-old and then succeed in it again when he's over 35.

"It shows that I've been playing in the league for a while," Crosby says, who, when asked about the records, says he didn't know about them and that the only thing that matters is helping the team score points.

"The first year you just want to prove that you belong here. And still at 35, I feel like I want to show where I belong.

Pittsburgh's Jeff Carter scored twice while Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust each scored a goal and assist. Tristan Jarry saved 28 shots on goal.

CLIP: Bratt led the way with his first NHL hat trick (March 20, 2023)

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Jesper Bratt led the way with his first NHL hat trick Photo: Viaplay/TT