It's easy to dismiss Sidney Crosby's game-winning goal against the New York Rangers on Sunday as a fluke, given it went off his knee before finding the back of the net. But to do that would be to overlook the steps the Pittsburgh Penguins took to put themselves in the best possible situation during the overtime session.

Winners of four straight on the road and seven of nine upon arriving at Madison Square Garden, the Penguins are making a push to improve their positioning in the Metropolitan Division playoff picture, and the Rangers are the very team they're chasing.

With the game squared 2-2 entering overtime, and less than a minute remaining in the extra session, the contest appeared destined for a shootout - but the Penguins weren't prepared to let the festivities reach that point.

While the Rangers' star power lies in the crease, the Penguins boast top-heavy scoring talent. In the nine seasons since Crosby's rookie campaign, the Penguins outscored the Rangers all but once.

To give his elite scorers another crack at ending the game before the shootout, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan called timeout to get the trio of Crosby, Phil Kessel, and Kris Letang back on the ice.

"We were trying to get those guys on the ice one more time," Sullivan said. "We think they give us the best chance to win."

The game-winning sequence begins with a now rested Crosby winning a battle for the puck deep in the Rangers' zone and getting it back to Letang at the point for a shot from distance.

After Letang's shot deflects into the corner, it's recovered by Kessel. At that point, the Rangers are left scrambling, with Derek Stepan following Kessel toward the blue line, and Ryan McDonagh forced to push out to the point to cover Letang.

Crosby notices this, and immediately moves to the front of the net where he meets an overmatched Mats Zuccarello.

Upon spotting the mismatch in front of Henrik Lundqvist, Letang fires the puck toward the goal mouth, where it ricochets off Crosby into the back of the net to win the game for the Penguins.

"It was a good play by Tanger just to throw it in an area where I could tip it," Crosby said.

The goal gives Crosby points in 14 of his last 15 games, during which time he's tallied seven goals and 22 points.

(Images courtesy: NHL)

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

On Monday, the Ottawa Senators are expected to announce that forward Clarke MacArthur will be shutdown for the remainder of the regular season.

The 30-year-old has been sidelined since the second week of the season with a devastating concussion, and while MacArthur has been adamant about a possible return, the team's position in the standings weighed against the risk and reward have made the decision a rather simple one.

MacArthur recently opened up to Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen about the grueling season he has had to endure, which all began after a hit during a preseason game that MacArthur admits he tried to hide.

"It stunned me, it was like the (concussion) before and I was thinking 'oh, no,'" MacArthur said. "I went to the bench, trying to hide it almost, but the trainers saw it."

But MacArthur went on playing, hoping that a five-day break before the start of the year would give him enough time to recover. It didn't, and it showed.

"I would get a couple of passes and think a guy was on me and I would try to move it, but I had, like, 10 feet of room," MacArthur said. "I was stumbling around and I think my balance got tweaked a little bit. How do I bring it up that I'm not good now? I already told them that I was. I had to figure it out before everyone catches on that I can't even play."

It was then during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 14 that he hit his head on the ice, spelling the end of his season, and beginning a strenuous recovery.

Nearly three months with almost no improvement, the concussion began taking an emotional tole on MacArhur.

"I felt like I was failing, this (doctor) said I would be back by January and I can't even work out," MacArthur said. "I’ve got a five-month-old at home. It was tougher on Jess than me. It was pretty scary. Whatever I did with that hit in Columbus, all the vestibular (which controls balance) went to hell in a handbag. Focusing on anything was just painful."

In fact, things got so bad for the 10-year veteran that he contemplated retirement.

"At one point in late November, early December, I was thinking I was done, maybe this is it," MacArthur said. "I had to get out of there. Every day you're coming to the rink and you want to go on the ice. It's like going to Disneyland. Everyone else goes on the rides and you're outside the doors, watching."

Eventually after a failed attempt, MacArthur passed the baseline test - used to test post-concussion symptoms. Hpwever, with the Senators now eight points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, it appears the best move now is to fight temptation and sit out.

MacArthur can now focus solely on a proper recovery and a return next fall.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's just two games but it appears Phil Kessel is finally playing like the All-Star the Pittsburgh Penguins were hoping for when they acquired him in July.

After exploding with a goal and four assists during Saturday's 7-2 rout over the Detroit Red Wings, the 28-year-old responded with another great performance Sunday, scoring a goal and assisting the game-winner in a 3-2 overtime win against the New York Rangers.

"I thought his last two games may have been his best since I've been here," praised head coach Mike Sullivan, whose team now sits just three points behind the Rangers, who currently hold home-ice advantage for a potential first-round playoff matchup.

"We like to use our speed to create offense," added linemate Carl Hagelin, who has two goals and an assist in the last two games. "His wrister is one of the hardest I've ever seen. He's fun to play with."

Now 8-2-0 in their past 10 games, Kessel and the Penguins will look to continue their impressive run against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.