Mar 14, 2007 4 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Sidney Crosby scored the deciding goal in the shootout as the Penguins celebrated the announcement that they’re staying in Pittsburgh for the next 30 years with a 5-4 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. Erik Christensen also scored in the shootout, Crosby had a goal and two assists, Ryan Whitney added three assists and Sergei Gonchar a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who are 4-0-1 in their last five games.

Daniel Briere had a goal and two assists and Chris Drury and Jason Pominville a goal and an assist each for Buffalo, which has lost a season-high four in a row.

Crosby got Sabres goalie Ryan Miller down and tucked the puck in on the forehand side to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead in the shootout. Marc-Andre Fleury then stopped Thomas Vanek on the other end to seal the win.

Five of the past seven Penguins games have gone to a shootout, with Pittsburgh winning four. The Penguins improved to 9-6 in shootouts as the past five of their games have been decided after regulation.

It didn’t appear as though this one would need extra time until Drury tied it with 6.2 seconds left.

Just after Pittsburgh’s Mark Recchi hit the post on an empty net, Drury beat Marc-Andre Fleury off a feed from Briere, who was behind the net.

The game was played a few hours after Penguins owners and government officials announced an agreement on a financing plan to build a new multipurpose Pittsburgh arena and sign the Penguins to a 30-year lease to play there. Last week, the Penguins announced they would “aggressively pursue relocation” because Mellon Arena is the league’s oldest facility.

Mario Lemieux, a former Penguins star and Hall of Famer who’s now the team’s co-owner, addressed the crowd briefly before the game to a rousing ovation. “I am here to announce,” Lemieux said, “that your Pittsburgh Penguins will remain here in Pittsburgh, where they belong.”

The noise level and atmosphere stayed at a heightened level for much of the contest – befitting with two of the top five teams in the Eastern Conference facing each other.

Pominville scored the game’s first goal with 31/2 minutes to play in the opening period on a solid second effort. After being stopped by Fleury while in front of the net, Pominville collected the rebound while falling to his right and flipping the puck in while hitting the ice. It was Pominville’s 28th goal.

But Pittsburgh’s Ryan Malone tied it 31 seconds later. Gonchar and Crosby assisted on the play, Crosby’s 101st point of the season.

The Penguins, who controlled play and held a 38-19 advantage in shots on goal, took their first lead on a fluky goal with 3:27 to play in the second period. A pass off the stick of Maxime Talbot deflected off the skate of Buffalo’s Clarke MacArthur and toward the net, where it hit the inside of Miller’s right pad and into the net.

The Sabres tied it less than two minutes later when Dmitri Kalinin scored his sixth off a pass from Drury.

Crosby gave the Penguins the lead for good with a power play goal 1:18 into the third, getting his stick on Recchi’s shot while in front of Miller.

Gonchar appeared to put the game away with a power-play goal with 9:22 to play, but Briere cut the lead to 4-3 about two minutes later off a pass from Jochen Hecht.

NOTES: Penguins RW Georges Laraque didn’t play because of back spasms. … Pittsburgh became the first team to have 12 players with at least 10 goals. … The crowd of 17,132 was the 17th sellout in 19 games. … A “Mario for Governor” banner hung in the arena’s upper balcony.