Suddenly, the Penguins are alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Crosby appears to be alive and well, too. When the Penguins are in Nashville, you can’t help but remember 2017, when they last won the Stanley Cup.

Despite the success in the win column, captain Sidney Crosby did not score a single goal in that run. Crosby helped the cause with 10 assists in the Penguins’ previous 10 outings but hadn’t found the back of the net since scoring his milestone 600th career goal.

Sidney Crosby’s inability to score a goal in 10 consecutive games before Thursday wasn’t necessarily a concern. More of a curiosity. At least to the person with hundreds of goals on his dazzling NHL resume.