Sidney Crosby finally puts an end to scoreless skid

The Buffalo Sabres sure do make a good slump-buster.

As Sidney Crosby was mired in the depths of one of the longest goalless droughts of his career — an 11-game stretch without finding the back of the net — seeing the Sabres on his calendar must have been a welcome view. Buffalo came into Tuesday’s contest sitting second-last in the Eastern Conference with only 13 points in 17 games while sporting the second-worst goal differential in the NHL (minus-20).

So, of course, Crosby took the occasion of playing against one of the league’s more putrid clubs as a chance to find his scoring touch again:

Crosby flew out of the gate this season, notching five goals and 10 points through Pittsburgh’s first eight games. Since Oct. 21, however, Sid has been shut out and has earned just three assists in his last 11 contests while putting up just over three shots per game and averaging 20:45 TOI. Though he wasn’t putting up the point production we’re used to seeing, The 30-year-old (yeah, he’s still only 30) has been generating quality shots and chances while being his usual defensively-adept self throughout the rare offensive skid.

The Penguins captain has made minced meat of the Sabres his whole career, firing home 16 goals and adding 35 assists in 34 career games against Buffalo coming into Tuesday, good for a whopping 1.50 points per game.

Crosby also assisted on Conor Sheary’s goal in overtime to give Pittsburgh a 5-4 victory.