Sidney Crosby dismisses reports of his demise with natural hat trick

The Penguins entered the All-Star break riding a three-game winning streak, lifting themselves to the cusp of the postseason picture in a season which saw them fire their head coach in mid-December. Looking to actually move into wild-card position, the Pens sure could have used a fast start Tuesday.

And they got just that, scoring three goals in the game’s first 16:17 to take a 3-1 lead over Ottawa. But a goal in the closing minute of the opening period followed by back-to-back goals — 24 seconds apart early in the second — gave the Senators a 4-3 lead.