Sidney Crosby scores twice as Wild fall to Penguins

Sidney Crosby scored twice and the Minnesota Wild couldn't get much of anything past Tristan Jarry, who made 29 saves to key a 3-1 Pittsburgh Penguins victory over the Wild Sunday afternoon at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. 

The Wild (36-24-4) were mostly playing from behind after a scoreless first period and 15 more minutes of goalless action in the second. But Evgeni Malkin scored on the power play 15 minutes, 22 seconds into the second frame to give the Penguins (25-31-10) a one-goal advantage. Crosby made it 2-0 with his goal 9:21 into the third. 

With 5 minutes, 6 seconds remaining in the game, Ryan Hartman gave Minnesota a shot at getting back into it with a power-play goal. Eventually, the Wild had to pull goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, and Crosby scored an empty-netter with 1:13 remaining. 

The Wild outshot the Penguins 30-22, but Jarry made 29 saves on the 30 shots to keep Minnesota at arm's distance. Fleury made 19 saves on 21 shots for the Wild. 

The Wild return to action and will look to snap a two-game skid Tuesday night when they host the Colorado Avalanche for a 7 p.m. puck drop at Xcel Energy Center.