Newsmakers in the NHL: Sidney Crosby's Controversial Overtime Winner

Oh my, they're not going to like this in Buffalo. After the Penguins and Sabres skated to a 3-3 tie in regulation, Sidney Crosby deflected an Evgeni Malkin slap shot behind Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller in overtime, giving the Penguins a 4-3 win. As you can see from the above video, it was oh-so-close to being a high-stick.

They key, however, is that the call on the ice was that it was indeed a goal, meaning they would need conclusive evidence to overturn it. Is that conclusive? It's pretty darn close. The fact it's Crosby on the positive end of the call isn't going to sit well with anyone outside of Pittsburgh, I'm guessing, especially after he got away with punching some guy in the goods a week ago. So, cue the conspiracy theories! Anyway, what's done is done, Penguins win, and the Sabres blew three different leads on the night, including a 2-0 advantage in the second period, while going 1-for-6 on the power play.

Pittsburgh's Alex Goligoski picked up three points (two goals, assist) in the win, while Malkin added three helpers in his quest for 100. Malkin, by the way, now has 43 assists on the season -- an amazing number when you consider there were only three players in the NHL entering play on Monday with 43 points (Malkin, Crosby and Alex Ovechkin).

Craig MacTavish Calls Out Another Player

A couple of weeks ago, free agent flop Dustin Penner found himself in the doghouse of Edmonton head coach Craig MacTavish, resulting in a public call-out and an opportunity to take in a few games from the cozy confines of the press box. Now Robert Nilsson knows the feeling as well, as he was a spectator on Monday night when the Oilers hosted Phoenix. Here's what MacTavish had to say about Nilsson's performance in the Oilers most recent game, a 3-2 loss to Anaheim this past Friday:

"I was expecting a lot more out of him," MacTavish candidly told the Edmonton Sun. "He had a great opportunity playing with our best forward (Ales Hemsky) and he just didn't show enough urgency in his game for me. That's plagued him through his career so far, the complacency and the laissez-faire attitude in which he conducts himself and plays the game. "We need some fire and he's got a lot more skill than what we're seeing. He needs a different perspective . he's taken the game for granted. We need more out of him."

Consider the message sent, I suppose. Nilsson, 23, was one of the key parts to the Ryan Smyth-to-New York deal a couple of years ago, and has produced just 52 points (15 goals, 37 assists) in 102 games with the Oilers.

As for his teammates, they beat the Coyotes, 4-2, thanks to goals from Andrew Cogliano, Sheldon Souray, Marc-Antoine Pouliot and Zack Stortini.

The Rest of the Action

... The Maple Leafs continued their impressive play with a 6-2 win in Atlanta. Matt Stajan scored a pair of goals for Toronto, while Jeremy Williams scored his fifth goal in just his sixth game.

... Daniel Sedin scored a pair of goals for Vancouver, while the Sundin-in-waiting Canucks held off a third period rally to defeat Anaheim, 4-3.