Crosby broke out with two goals and Evgeni Malkin scored 1:03 into overtime to lift the Penguins over the St. Louis Blues 4-3 just hours after a report surfaced that there was a rift between the Penguins' captain and team owner Mario Lemieux.
Lemieux publicly denied the claim, saying it was ''silly'' and ''absolutely not true'' that he was feuding with Crosby. The current Penguins star lived with Lemieux early in his career.
Crosby appears to be breaking out of an early-season slump at the right time. The two-time NHL MVP went scoreless in eight of his first nine games but now has a three-game points streak with 10 points in his last 12.
Crosby scored his fourth and fifth of the season and now has a goal against every NHL team - he had five assists in 10 career meetings against St. Louis. It was also the first time Crosby scored two regular-season goals since Feb. 12 against Ottawa, a span of 47 games.
Malkin scored after taking a lead pass from Phil Kessel. He goaltender Jake Allen on the backhand for his eighth of the season and league-leading fifth game-winner.
