EDMONTON, Alberta -- So, who is the best player in the world?
Take your pick.
You couldn't go wrong with either Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid. Tuesday night's epic clash between superstars probably didn't answer it definitively either way. But a rematch in, say, June would be fun, wouldn't it?
Obviously, Patric Hornqvist might be a little biased but the Penguins right wing was more than happy to weigh in on this "best player" debate following Tuesday night's highly-entertaining 6-5 overtime win over the Oilers at Rogers Place.
"I think he showed tonight who's the best player in the world," Hornqvist said of Crosby. "He always shows up when you guys say he's not the best anymore and all that. And then he comes and does that. His nicest goal through his whole career. It says a lot."
Yep, Crosby did this at 2:12 of the extra session, undressing Ryan Strome before waiting out Cam Talbot and lifting this no-angle backhander:
But this narrative that Crosby isn't the best anymore isn't some "fake news," media creation. The Penguins' captain himself said that of McDavid just last week. Whether Crosby actually believes that or was just trying to be polite, only he knows. But, clearly, he was highly motivated Tuesday:
"You try to be at your best whether it's a rival or opposing center or opposing defenseman," Crosby admitted. "You get up for those."
In a game of anything you can do, I can do better, Crosby ultimately prevailed over McDavid, the latest challenger to the throne. Crosby is now 5-0 in his career in the head-to-head matchup against Edmonton's captain. It was also the seventh straight one-goal game between the two teams and the third that went 60 minutes-plus.
First, McDavid, the two-time defending scoring champ, tied the game with a power play goal and then gave the Oilers a 5-4 lead on Leon Draisaitl’s power play marker, all within the first 4:18 of the third period.
Jamie Oleksiak, of all people, tied it at 6:51 of the third with his second goal of the game, but somehow you had to know that Crosby wasn't done.
From Olympics to postseason play, Crosby has always excelled on the game's bigger stages. For a Tuesday night game in October against a Western Conference team, this early season game was fairly significant.
The highlight reel game-winner was Crosby's second goal of the game after he scored his first of the season -- in game No. 7 -- with a power play goal at 10:58 to open the scoring in the first period. It ended what had been the longest drought that Crosby had endured to start a season in his 14-year Hall of Fame-worthy career.
Of course that drought, along with his "advanced age" -- 31 years to McDavid's 21 -- led many to wonder whether Crosby had passed the torch to a new generation. But like last week's showdown in Toronto against Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs, Crosby once again prevailed.
"I'm sure it was a fun game to watch," McDavid said. "There were lots of good players on the ice, good creative chances going either way, and I think the fans got a good show tonight. But we wanted a better result."
The 3-on-3 overtime format has long favored the speed and skill of the Penguins, who went 12-4 last season in OT. However, they entered Tuesday night 1-2 this season in games that went beyond regulation. And this time, they were up against McDavid and the Oilers. In the end, however, it was McDavid on the ice when Crosby -- who was double-shifted in OT -- called it a night.
"It's not fun chasing McDavid around with that much ice, to be honest with you," Crosby said. "It's tough. It's a lot of ice to cover. It's hard to defend. You definitely want the puck. Makes a huge difference if you can possess the puck, that goes a long way to generating chances. It's a bit of an open game out there when you see 3-on-3."
After a rather tame opening first period, there was no shortage of open ice -- or fun -- over the final 42:12 on Tuesday. Probably a little too much fun for Mike Sullivan's liking.
The Penguins essentially took a blowtorch to the game plan that had been so successful against the Maple Leafs. Instead of a sound defensive game and limiting shots, the Penguins traded scoring chance for scoring chance against the Oilers.
"You have to be able to win these ones too," Crosby said. "It's not always pretty and you have to find a way to come through, and we did that."
There were five lead changes, a rare fight and a late controversy. It was more befitting the Penguins and Oilers of 1988, not 2018. Edmonton threw 46 shots on Matt Murray, who made 41 saves, a season-high, including a third-period stop on a McDavid breakaway.
"I don't think (those games) are as much fun to coach as much as you guys enjoy watching it," Sullivan said. "Obviously, there was a lot of skill on both sides that makes for exciting hockey. We're certainly pleased with the results that we got and got some great individual efforts on some of the goals. It was a really good display of talent out here. But we've got to strive to become a better team and more difficult to play against. It just seemed like the way the game was played tonight, it was more wide open."
But in the end, it came down to Crosby. It always does with the Penguins. That's a role that he says he understands and embraces.
"I'm going out there every night to try and create things and come up with big plays when they're needed," he said. "There's a lot of us that want to do that on every single team that are looked to do that. I'm not any different than (McDavid) in understanding that responsibility and wanting to be at my best."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THREE STARS
My curtain calls go to …
1. Sidney Crosby
Penguins center
No question. Crosby scored his first two goals of the season, including the game-winner in OT.
2. Connor McDavid
Oilers center
When the Oilers needed McDavid, he came through. Down 4-3 at the start of the third period, he scored one goal and assisted on another to temporarily give Edmonton the lead.
3. Matt Murray
Penguins goalie
Normally, giving up five goals in a game is a recipe for a loss. But this wasn't your typical game. Murray stopped 41 shots including the McDavid breakaway late to force overtime. "That was a huge save, kept the game even," Sullivan said. "I thought he made some big saves."
THE GOOD
Olesksiak recorded the second multi-goal and second three-point game of his career and first in a Penguins uniform:
His tying goal in the third was the result of a big rebound that Talbot kicked out into the high slot. Oleksiak jumped into the play and fired high to the glove side. He now has three goals this season and is second only to Letang on the Penguins in goals for defensemen.
"I was kind of nervous it might hop over my stick but I got all of it, found a spot there," Oleksiak said. "It was definitely nice to get that one."
The big defenseman, who picked up a fighting major in the first period with his spirited scrap with Zack Kassian, fell an assist short of the Gordie Howe hat trick.
When reminded of that: "Yeah, two goals," he said with a smile. "I'll take that for sure."
Like Crosby, Hornqvist also scored his first two goals of the season. And like Crosby, he did it in vintage fashion. Meaning: They weren't pretty but they count all the same.
Hornqvist's first goal was the result of a beautiful, no-look backhanded pass from Dominik Simon at 10:24 of the second. His second goal went in off his skate blade and upheld by video review with :55 seconds remaining in the second period.
"After that first period there, I got a few really good chances in front of the net but couldn't get the puck," he said. "All of a sudden, in the second I kept going there and I got the puck and shot it right away, and it's nice to see it went in. And then I got a lucky one. If you keep going there, you're going to score some goals."
THE BAD
Jack Johnson's primary assist on the game winner was his first point as a Penguin and his first to Crosby since their high school days at Shattuck-St. Mary's.
Other than that, Johnson had an absolutely miserable night. You can argue the merits of plus-minus as a viable stat, but minus-1 doesn't tell a fraction of the story. The Penguins' prized free agent signing was on the ice for all five Edmonton goals. To his credit, Johnson took full ownership of his performance and was happy to answer any question.
“It was a rollercoaster of a game," Johnson said. "We didn’t play nearly our best. Tonight, like Coach just told us, we were getting into track meets. We got loose defensively and started to look too much into scoring goals.”
THE PLAY
Um, what else?
THE CALL
A faceoff violation is a penalty not often called, let alone with six minutes remaining in a tied game of a marquee matchup. But that's what the Penguins were slapped with when Evgeni Malkin and then Carl Hagelin were tossed out of the circle:
The impetus was on Hagelin, a left winger by trade, to not get thrown out of an offensive zone draw. He had taken just 119 faceoffs in his career with a 38.7 win percentage.
That penalty sent the Oilers to their fourth power play of the third period after Edmonton had already scored twice. With Jake Guentzel serving the penalty, the Penguins responded with an inspired kill, particularly from Hagelin, who was eager to make amends for his penalty.
The Oilers went 2-for-5 on the power play against the Penguins' second-ranked PK, which had allowed just one goal in six games this season.
THE OTHER SIDE
The good news for the Oilers is that they still managed to take a point out of Tuesday night's game.
The better news, in the grand scheme, is that they received some scoring from someone other than McDavid. The Oilers captain had been in on 11 of his team's 13 goals.
McDavid didn't earn so much as a secondary assist on Edmonton's first three goals against the Penguins. After getting shutout Saturday against Nashville, Alex Chiasson and Draisaitl scored two goals each for the Oilers, who fell to 3-4.
The bigger problem on Tuesday was the Oilers' inability to keep the puck out of their net. Talbot allowed six goals on 31 shots.
"We didn't have to let it get to six, and that's the disappointing part," coach Todd McLellan said. "We could've prevented one of those goals, whether it was the goaltender, the D-men, the forwards, or better execution off faceoffs. There are little tiny things that go into winning successfully night in, night out and we still have to find ways to do that over 82 games."
THE INJURIES
• Penguins: Justin Schultz, defenseman, (fractured left leg) is out four months.
• Oilers: Forwards Ty Rattie (midsection) and Drake Caggiula (upper body), and defensemen Andrej Sekera (Achilles) and Matt Benning (lower body) were all out.
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will practice Wednesday at 3 p.m., at Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome, home of the Flames, who they will face Thursday at 9:08 p.m.
THE COVERAGE
Visit our Penguins team page for all our coverage.
