STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin scored a little over two minutes apart in the first period to help the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Nashville Predators 4-0 on Sunday to split their NHL’s Global Series in Sweden's capital.
The Penguins bounced back from a 2-1 loss to the Predators in the opener of the two-game series on Friday and snapped a three-game skid. Rookie goaltender Sergei Murashov stopped 21 shots for his first victory in his second NHL start.
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Penguin's Sidney Crosby scuffles with Predator's Ryan O'Reilly, right, during the NHL Global Series hockey game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP)
Penguins goalie Sergei Murashov and Predators Ryan O'Reilly in action during the NHL Global Series hockey game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP)
Penguin's Sidney Crosby in action during the NHL Global Series hockey game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP)
Pittsburgh's Parker Wotherspoon is congratulated by teammates Blake Lizotte and Erik Karlsson after his 1-0 goal during the NHL Global Series hockey game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP)
After Parker Wotherspoon put the Penguins up 1-0, Malkin doubled the lead 8:08 in when his pass from behind the goal line was deflected into the net by Nashville defenseman Nicolas Hague. The 39-year-old Malkin scored his team's only goal Friday.
Malkin and Crosby lead Pittsburgh in scoring. Malkin has 23 points and Crosby 21.
Crosby, 38, one-timed a shot from the left circle past the midway point of the first to make it 3-0, scoring his 12th goal of the season and 637th of his career. Blake Lizotte finished it off with an empty netter with 2:48 left.
Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros allowed three goals on 21 shots.
The NHL has played games in Europe since 2008 as part of its efforts to grow the fan base in hockey-mad countries like Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic and others. This was the league's 48th regular-season game outside North America.
The Penguins and Predators again split an international series, after doing so at the start of the 2000-01 regular season in Japan.
The Penguins returned to Stockholm for the first time since 2008 when they faced Ottawa, before winning the Stanley Cup to cap off that season. Crosby, Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang were all on that team. They are currently in their 20th season as teammates with the Penguins.
Predators: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Penguins: Host the Minnesota Wild on Friday.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Penguin's Sidney Crosby scuffles with Predator's Ryan O'Reilly, right, during the NHL Global Series hockey game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP)
Penguins goalie Sergei Murashov and Predators Ryan O'Reilly in action during the NHL Global Series hockey game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP)
Penguin's Sidney Crosby in action during the NHL Global Series hockey game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP)
Pittsburgh's Parker Wotherspoon is congratulated by teammates Blake Lizotte and Erik Karlsson after his 1-0 goal during the NHL Global Series hockey game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP)
PHOENIX (AP) — Dawn Staley has fond memories of her first trip as a coach to the NCAA championship game. It ended with South Carolina's first national title nine years ago.
She hopes that UCLA's first time playing for an NCAA title won't end the same way for the Bruins, who face the Gamecocks on Sunday for the championship.
“It’s special. I mean, it’s special. You’re playing on the last day of college women’s basketball,” Staley said. “It’s a great honor and a great feat whether you win or lose. You also are measuring where your program can continue to go. For us, 2017, we won it. I’m hoping that’s not the same for UCLA on Sunday.”
Since winning that first title, Staley has led the Gamecocks to two more, and she's reached the title game in four of the past five seasons. A win against UCLA would tie Staley with LSU's Kim Mulkey for third most titles by a coach, trailing only Geno Auriemma and the late Pat Summitt.
Staley isn't concerned about her place in history.
“I don’t really compare myself to anybody when it comes to it,” she said. “I mean, I do what I do for our players. I do what I do for the coaches that I work with every single day. Those are the people that are in the trenches. Other people outside of us, I’ve never really compared myself to.”
UCLA's run to its first championship game started last year with a blowout loss to UConn in last year’s Final Four. The Bruins used that as motivation during their return to the national semifinals.
The Bruins' only loss this year came to Texas in November. UCLA got its revenge with a 51-44 win in the Final Four. Now the Bruins are vying for their first national championship since 1978, when women’s basketball was governed by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.
“We’ve been very businesslike. We were not jumping around in the locker room. We were not celebrating,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “We have really come to this tournament very focused. We really believe that the job wasn’t done yet. We want to have a chance to compete for a national championship. We want to do that the highest of levels.”
Close said after the win over Texas that it felt like a rugby match. She hopes for a more “aesthetically pleasing game” against the Gamecocks.
“I do think we all want the same thing. The officiating, the coaches, the players, we all want the same thing,” she said. “We want to have a stylistic game that shows off the progress of the game, that continues to grow the game nationally to people who are tuning in. We just have to figure out where that gap is and how we can close it.”
South Carolina freshman Agot Makeer has had an incredible NCAA Tournament, scoring in double figures in all five games after only doing that three times in the Gamecocks' 33 previous games. Makeer is averaging 14.6 points while shooting 55.6% from the field during March Madness.
“I feel like my mindset changed. Starting in the SEC Tournament, I just started approaching games differently,” she said. “And I feel like it wasn’t just one-dimensional thinking. I just wanted to go and do whatever I can to get the team to win. So just in this tournament, I’ve just thought whatever I can do to get this team a win is what I need to do.”
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
South Carolina forward Maryam Dauda (30) celebrates after a play against UConn during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) and Texas center Kyla Oldacre (00) battle for the ball during the second half of a women's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
UCLA forward Angela Dugalic, left, and UCLA guard Charlisse Leger-Walker (5) embrace after defeating Texas in a women's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
South Carolina guard Tessa Johnson, right, and South Carolina guard Agot Makeer (44) celebrate after defeating UConn in a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley reacts during the first half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game between UConn and South Carolina at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
