Penguins react to beating Devils in first game without Sidney Crosby

Not long after it was learned that Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby will miss at least four weeks of action due to the lower-body injury he suffered during the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, veteran winger Bryan Rust insisted that he and other Pittsburgh players would prove those who believe the Penguins will fall apart without their captain wrong. 

The Penguins then scored three third-period goals to earn an emotional 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night. Following that home win, Rust expanded on how he and his teammates must continue to pick up the slack amid Crosby's absences. 

Penguins players must "step up" in multiple ways with Sidney Crosby out of action

"Everybody’s got to step up," Rust said, per Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "Not just with their play but with how we handle the locker room, how we handle the ebbs and flows of the game. All those little things."

It was goaltender Arturs Silovs who stepped up in a big way for the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday. The stats show that he stopped 28 of 29 shots, but The Athletic's Josh Yohe noted that Silovs prevented the Devils from entering the third period of action with at least a two- or three-goal lead. 

"For sure, he’s a big part of the team, but there’s guys who can step up," Silovs said about the Penguins winning without Crosby. "If I can do it for the time (until) he comes back, we’re going to be in a great spot." 

Much can and will change by the time Crosby returns, assuming he actually will be able to play again before the regular season wraps up. 30-15-12 Pittsburgh will enter Saturday afternoon's game at the New York Rangers (22-29-7) in the second playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division standings. Following that matchup, the Penguins will complete 17 games in 31 days.

Penguins players motivated to "do something good" with Sidney Crosby out of action

In short, Thursday night has to be only the beginning for the Penguins if they are to remain at least in the hunt for a playoff spot before Crosby resumes skating. 

"Obviously, you can’t replace the stuff that he does, but other guys are going to get more opportunity and ice time to show what they can do," forward Tommy Novak added about Crosby. "Everyone wants that (in order) to step up and do something good for the team. Today was a good example of that."