The Penguins needed Sidney Crosby to do Sidney Crosby things against Philly. The captain delivered

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The sequence might as well have served as a metaphor of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season.

There was Sidney Crosby, his left knee throbbing after absorbing a blistering shot from the point by teammate Ryan Shea, limping off the ice and disappearing down the tunnel in the second period of Game 5 on Monday night against Philadelphia.

A few minutes later, with the Penguins' longtime captain still out of sight, the Flyers tied it. Suddenly, a contest Pittsburgh had controlled for significant stretches was gone. The young Flyers, many of them experiencing the cauldron of playoff hockey for the first time, were surging. A quick playoff exit for a team that spent six months defying expectations loomed.

And just like that, Crosby's familiar No. 87 returned to the bench. And just like that, he was over the boards and on the ice. And just like that, he was finishing off a shift by flipping the puck to Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang at the top of the Flyers' zone.

Crosby's back was to the play when Letang's somewhat innocent shot from the point sailed wide of the Philadelphia net. Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar kept his eyes forward, expecting a big rebound. It never came.

The puck instead glanced off the back of Vladar's left leg, then his right and trickled across the goal line to provide the goal that turned out to be the game-winner as Pittsburgh fended off elimination and forced maybe more than a little doubt into the mind of the Flyers, whose once-comfortable 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series no longer feels quite so comfortable after Pittsburgh's 3-2 victory.

Game 6 is in Philadelphia on Wednesday, and the Penguins will head across the state not only with momentum, but also with their unquestioned leader starting to look like his old self after an uncommonly quiet start.

Save for his brief retreat to the trainer's room, Crosby was everywhere. He assisted on Connor Dewar's goal in the second period, got another primary assist on Letang's second goal in as many games and nearly added a goal himself when his diving flick toward the Flyers’ open net in the final minutes clanged off the left post.

So much for looking every bit of 38. Monday night was vintage Crosby.

“When things get hard and your back is against the wall, there is no doubt in my mind that he’s going to lead the charge in terms of elevating and finding a way to do everything possible to help us win this game," first-year Penguins coach Dan Muse said.

Crosby has 21 points in 24 games in his career when facing elimination. His 100th career playoff victory looked an awful lot like the 99 that came before it, with Crosby doing a little bit of everything, including taking a wallop off his left knee, then returning a few minutes later as if nothing happened.

“I feel good,” he said. “I mean, that’s stuff that happens sometimes and you try to go to the front of the net and it’s just one of those ones that found its way. Sometimes they hit you, sometimes they go by.”

Crosby absorbed a direct hit, albeit from friendly fire, and bounced back immediately. It's been that way all season for the Penguins, whose surprising season has been marked by righting themselves just when it looked like things were about to get sideways.

What they're trying to pull off now would trump everything that came before it by a wide margin. The odds remain slim — only four teams have ever rallied after losing the first three games of a series — but they're not as slim as they were when the puck dropped for Game 4.

Crosby will take it. So will his team.

“I think the last couple games we found our stride a bit,” he said. "We should feel good about that ... we’re playing good hockey and we’ve got to go in there and find a way to win again.”

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Pittsburgh Penguins' Kris Letang (58) returns to the bench and greetings from Anthony Mantha (39), Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin (71) and Tommy Novak after scoring during the second period of Game 5 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs (37) celebrates with Sidney Crosby (87) at the end of Game 5 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) is checked off the puck by Philadelphia Flyers' Cam York (8) during the third period of Game 5 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby, right, is defended by Philadelphia Flyers' Luke Glendening (41) during the third period of Game 5 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

BEKASI, Indonesia (AP) — The death toll in the train crash outside Indonesia's capital climbed to 14.

Bobby Rasyidin, CEO of state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia, said 14 people have been confirmed dead as of Tuesday morning. The bodies have been transported to a hospital for further identification.

The crash occurred Monday when a long-distance train crashed into the rear car of a stopped commuter train at Bekasi Timur Station outside Jakarta.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

BEKASI, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers were working to reach three people still trapped Tuesday in a badly damaged commuter train car after a crash outside Indonesia's capital that killed at least seven people.

A long-distance train crashed into the rear car of a stopped commuter train Monday at Bekasi Timur Station outside Jakarta. The car was one designated for women only, a common accommodation to stop harassment.

A total of 81 injured people were taken to hospitals for treatment, said Bobby Rasyidin, CEO of state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia. “The evacuations are taking a long time ... and we’re doing it very carefully,” Rasyidin told reporters of the rescue efforts.

All 240 passengers on the Argo Bromo Anggrek long-distance train were safe, officials said.

Police were investigating the cause of the accident, Jakarta Police Chief Asep Edi Suheri told reporters at the scene.

Rasyidin said another commuter train struck a stalled taxi on a crossing near the station and a rail system disruption was suspected.

“As for the chronology of events, we are leaving it to the National Transportation Safety Committee to investigate the cause of tonight’s train accident in greater detail,” Rasyidin said.

Accidents are common on Indonesia’s aging railroad network. In January 2024, two trains collided in West Java province, killing at least four people.

People who are injured in a train collision are treated at a hospital, in Bekasi, Indonesia, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Rescuers carry the body of a victim of a train collision in Bekasi, Indonesia, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Workers examine the wreckages of trains after a collision in Bekasi, Indonesia, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Relatives of victims comfort each other after a train collision in Bekasi, Indonesia, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Workers and rescuers examine the wreckage following a train collision in Bekasi, Indonesia, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)