The Oilers' 5-3 loss to the Penguins ended a seven-game winning streak against the Penguins dating back to Dec. 20, 2019.

Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists to move into ninth on the NHL’s career scoring list as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers 5-3.

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The Penguins got the best of the Oilers through sheer hard work and smart defensive strategy — and a little star power from both teams.

It’s fitting that the Pittsburgh Penguins’ “Star Wars Night” promotion Thursday evening followed Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. That defeat created a great disturbance in the force at PPG Paints Arena.

The Penguins came into Thursday’s matchup with Edmonton at PPG Paints Arena especially motivated. First and foremost, they wanted to ensure they grabbed two points after picking up just one in three of their last four games (0-1-3),

Sydney Crosby moved up in the NHL record book, and Bryan Rust ignited a four-goal outburst in the first period as Pittsburgh defeated visiting Edmonton 5-3 on Thursday.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson’s baritone voice dropped a handful of octaves when the query was posed. How unique of a challenge are the Edmonton Oilers strictly because of the combined presence of superstar forwards Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid?

They talked about how the Edmonton Oilers had owned the Pittsburgh Penguins throughout this decade. Then, after a 5-3 Penguins win, the script flipped.

The Pittsburgh Penguins had lost seven consecutive games to Edmonton before Thursday evening. They had been outscored in those games, 37-9, and might have been outplayed even more than those numbers suggest.

After a trio of overtime games, none of which became wins, the Pittsburgh Penguins badly needed a victory. However, facing a team that has beaten, if not embarrassed, them for a few years running was not the most advantageous situation.