Penguins' Sidney Crosby Praises Swedish Fans for Recent Support

This weekend’s NHL Global Series brought Pittsburgh and Nashville to Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, and the contrast between the two clubs couldn’t be more drastic. The Penguins arrived overseas looking like one of the East’s most complete teams, sitting comfortably inside the top four. Nashville came in searching for anything to stop a painful losing streak, sitting third-last in the West and desperate for a spark.

Still, these games tend to strip away standings. The rink shrinks, the stage grows, and one moment can flip everything on its head. And in the first of the two matchups in Sweden between these teams, that’s exactly what happened.

The Start to a Historic Night Across the NHL

The opening act of the Global Series quickly set the tone for what would become a history setting night in the NHL. With this being the first of four games on the schedule, every single one would end up going beyond regulation, making it the first time a full slate of four or more games all went past sixty minutes. Given the chaos around the league, it was only fitting that the strangest goal of the night belonged to Evgeni Malkin.

At 13:49 of the second period, on what was just Pittsburgh’s second shot of the frame, Malkin slipped behind the Nashville net and gentle wrist shot toward the crease. The puck struck Michael McCarron’s stick, bounced off the back of Juuse Saros, and trickled across the line — a goal that was equal parts lucky, deliberate, and similar to one Malkin scored 17 years ago.

Evgeni Malkin scores the first goal in the Global Series 👏 pic.twitter.com/oQ6TptGmQ4
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) November 14, 2025

It was his fourth goal of the season and the 518th of his career, tying Dale Hawerchuk for 40th on the all-time list. It also made Malkin, at 39 years and 106 days, the oldest player ever to score a regular-season goal outside North America, breaking Rob Blake’s mark from the 2007 Premiere Series.

Stammer Drops the Hammer and Stuns Pittsburgh in OT

But the Penguins wouldn’t score for the rest of the game. They protected the 1–0 lead deep into the third period before Filip Forsberg ripped home the tying goal directly off a faceoff with just 1:10 remaining. The momentum flipped immediately, and less than a minute into overtime, Steven Stamkos buried the winner after a missed Penguins chance at the other end.

The goal ended Nashville’s five-game losing streak and delivered a 2–1 win that felt like a gut punch for Pittsburgh. A win like this can be a momentum changer, so it'll be interesting to see how the Predators play going forward.

STEVEN STAMKOS WINS IT IN OVERTIME FOR THE PREDS 🚨 pic.twitter.com/4GnlLSh8lX
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) November 14, 2025

Crosby Says Swedish Fans Lifted the Team

The next day, Sidney Crosby was asked about the sea of Penguins jerseys in Stockholm and what that support meant. Here’s what he told reporters.

“It’s fun, it’s a cool opportunity to be part of this,” Crosby said. “You have a tough game, you lose in overtime, and then you come out and you have a bunch of people that are really happy to see you. I think that brought some energy to the practice and probably something we needed after a tough one last night. I hope they’re enjoying it. It’s been a pretty cool thing to be a part of, and it’d be even better to finish it off with a win.”

The Penguins will get that chance soon enough. After a crushing finish in the Global Series opener, Pittsburgh knows exactly what’s at stake in the rematch. And with their Swedish supporters behind them, they’ll take the ice with every intention of sending those fans home with something to truly cheer about.

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