On the opening day of the baseball season Jim Thome Jersey , Sidney Crosby swung and connected for the Pittsburgh Penguins, preventing the New Jersey Devils from sweeping their four-game season series with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion.

Crosby batted his own rebound out of the air and into the net 19 seconds into overtime, and the Penguins beat the Devils 4-3 on Thursday night, marking the second time in just over a week the back-to-back Conn Smythe Trophy winner has scored on a baseball swing.

”I’ve seen him do it so many times, it doesn’t surprise us anymore,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. ”He’s an elite player. There aren’t too many (making) guys those types of plays. He does it time and time again. He thinks the game on such a high level and he’s such a competitor.”

Kris Letang stole Taylor Hall’s pass in the opening seconds in the Pittsburgh zone and sent Crosby on a semi-break the other way. His initial shot hit the goalpost, but then the star center pulled his hands in and swatted the puck, extending his goal-scoring streak to five games.

The tally was similar to one against Montreal last Wednesday in which Crosby juggled the puck once on his stick before smacking it from just below shoulder height.

Crosby, who has won almost every major award in the NHL, modestly downplayed his latest trick.

”I just tried to stay with it,” he said. ”It’s fortunate it came back to me. I saw it go off post.”

Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin called the goal incredible.

”It kind of leaves you in awe,” he said. ”I mean we see it a lot, but every time he does it and does something special it’s crazy to see and enjoyable. It just speaks to what an incredible player he is.”

Conor Sheary, Letang and Patric Hornqvist also scored for the Penguins. Matt Murray made 28 saves.

Kyle Palmieri, Hall and Blake Coleman scored for the Devils Cheap Nate Solder Jersey , who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Keith Kinkaid had 31 saves in losing for only the fourth time in his last 16 decisions (12-3-1).

”That’s a good team over there,” Palmieri said after the Devils remained three points in front of Florida in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. ”They know how to win at this time of year. We’ll take the point and reset and shore some things up for us. It’s a big weekend for us.”

New Jersey has five games left in the regular season, one less than the Panthers, who lost 3-2 in overtime to Ottawa.

The losses by Ottawa and New Jersey clinched playoff berths for Washington and Toronto, which were both idle.

The game was tied three times, with the Penguins getting a lucky bounce on Hornqvist’s 25th goal that tied it with 8:34 left in regulation. His shot from just inside the blue line went through a maze of players, hit the goalpost and then bounced off Kinkaid’s leg into the net.

Coleman had given the Devils the lead 5:11 into the third period. He stole a puck at the Penguins’ blue line, worked a give-and-go with Travis Zajac and then put the rebound of his own shot past Murray. It was his 12th goal of the season and third against Pittsburgh.

The game was tied 1-all after the first period and 2-all after the second.

Palmieri, who has four goals in his last three games, was sent on a breakaway by Nico Hischier and beat Murray between the pads at 12:19. Sheary tied it 25 seconds later after taking a cross-ice pass by Hornqvist and beating Kinkaid in close.

Letang, who has goals in two straight, put Pittsburgh ahead 6:59 into the second period, beating Kinkaid from low in the right circle.

Hall tied the game with a power-play goal from the right circle. It was his 34th goal.

NOTES: Hischier is the first Devils’ rookie to have 50 points in a season since Adam Henrique in 2011-12. … The Penguins now have four 25-goal scorers with Hornqvist joining Evgeni Malkin (42), Phil Kessel (30) and Crosby (28). It’s the first time since 2011-12. … RW Patrick Maroon returned to the Devils’ lineup after missing two games with a lower-body injury. … Rookie RW Jesper Bratt was a healthy scratch.

UP NEXT

Penguins: Host Montreal on Saturday.

Devils: Finish four-game home stand on Saturday against Islanders.

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More NHL hockey:

After rain washed out Thursday’s scheduled series opener, the Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox will play a day-night doubleheader on Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field to kick off a four-game series.

The A’s will go for their season-high fifth win in a row when they finally take the field on Chicago’s South Side.

Oakland (38-36) has won four straight games on four occasions this season Saints Natrell Jamerson Jersey , including its current stretch, but has yet to make it five. The A’s have outscored opponents 28-15 during this week’s streak, which includes two wins apiece against the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres.

A’s hitters slugged five homers in a 12-4 rout of the Padres on Wednesday. The team already has four players with double-digit blasts including Khris Davis (20), Matt Olson (15), Jed Lowrie (11) and the injured Matt Chapman (10).

“We definitely have some power,” A’s manager Bob Melvin told the A’s official website. “That’s one of the strengths of the team.”

As Oakland is riding a hot streak, Chicago (24-49) is mired in a seven-game losing streak. A loss in the series opener would give the White Sox their worst skid of the season, which is saying something considering the club’s ugly record.

White Sox manager Rick Renteria’s club has been swept in its last two series, against the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians. In Wednesday’s series finale, Chicago managed only two hits in a 12-0 shutout loss to the Indians.

“It’s tough, but instead of getting frustrated, we have to keep working, use that feeling to work harder,” White Sox second baseman Yoan Moncada told the team’s official website. “There are still plenty of games to play, and we can improve. We can keep getting better Youth Mark Walton Jersey , and if it is not this year, then next year. But definitely the games we have this year, we have a chance to improve.”

The White Sox will turn to right-hander James Shields (2-8, 4.63 ERA) in the first game of the twin bill. The 36-year-old has pitched at least six innings in 11 consecutive starts as part of a bounce-back season atop the club’s rotation.

In his career against Oakland, Shields is 6-7 with a 4.86 ERA in 19 games (18 starts). He came in as a reliever in the 14th inning of a game against Oakland in April this season, and gave up two hits, two walks and the game-winning run in two-thirds of an inning.

The A’s will start the doubleheader with left-hander Sean Manaea (6-6, 3.56 ERA), who grew up in Northwest Indiana, not far from Chicago. The 26-year-old is off to a good start this season with 19 walks and 68 strikeouts in 93 2/3 innings.

Manaea has never faced the White Sox in his career.

In the nightcap, White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito (4-7, 7.19 ERA) will look to improve in his 15th start of the season. The former first-round pick of the Washington Nationals (No. 16 overall in 2012) has terrific potential but has been unable to produce consistent results in his first full season in Chicago.

Poor command has plagued Giolito, who has 45 walks in 71 1/3 innings. He also has hit 10 batters, which is tied for most in the majors along with Cole Hamels of the Texas Rangers and Carlos Martinez of the St. Louis Cardinals.

This will mark the 23-year-old’s first career appearance against Oakland.

For the A’s, right-hander Chris Bassitt (0-2 Avonte Maddox Jersey Eagles , 2.45 ERA) will make his third start of the season in the nightcap. The 29-year-old is seeking his first victory since Aug. 4, 2015, against the Baltimore Orioles.

Bassitt is quite familiar with the White Sox, who drafted him in the 16th round in 2011 and developed him in the minors. He went 1-1 with a 3.94 ERA in six appearances (five starts) as a rookie in Chicago in 2014.

Bassitt has faced the White Sox once in his career, giving up eight hits and four runs in 5 1/3 innings on April 5, 2016. He did not get a decision in Chicago’s 5-4 victory.

On Dec. 9, 2014, the White Sox shipped Bassitt, Marcus Semien, Josh Phegley and minor leaguer Rangel Ravelo to Oakland for Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa. The trade did not pan out as hoped for Chicago, which retained Samardzija for one underwhelming season before he signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants.

This is the first series of the season between the teams. Last year, Oakland won the season series 5-1.

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