Penguins have a flashback in 7-6 (OT) win over Canadiens

MONTREAL - Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins got a taste of what it would be like to travel back in time to the NHL's high-scoring heyday of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

Brandon Sutter scored his second goal of the game 52 seconds into overtime and Pittsburgh ended its two-game losing streak with a 7-6 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Both teams scored once in the first period, three times in the second, and twice in the third.

"That looked like the '80s kind of out there," said Crosby, who had a goal and two assists. "It was something that I think everyone got their money's worth tonight and it was exciting. I haven't played in one like that for quite a while. I thought I was in Rimouski again watching that one but those ones don't happen very often. It's nice to be on the winning side of it."

The Penguins, who blew 4-2 and 6-5 leads, got the sixth and final advantage of the game with Sutter's winner. Montreal led 1-0, 2-1 and 5-4.

"It was obviously a very up-and-down game and I think both teams would tell you that it's not what was drawn up in the game plan," said Sutter, who also scored a power-play goal late in the first. "To come out with a win when you give up six goals is a good confidence booster but we have to work on a few things in our own end."

Pittsburgh, which hosts Tampa Bay on Monday, allowed 16 goals over the course of its three-game road trip.

Canadiens captain Brian Gionta scored his second goal of the game 10:54 into the third period to tie it at 6.

That came just 30 seconds after Crosby gave Pittsburgh its second lead of the game with his 10th goal of the season at 10:24.

"We had spurts of the game where we were going, and other parts where we just weren't moving our feet," Gionta said. "It was a back-and-forth game, mistake after mistake, and the last team capitalized."

Kris Letang got his fourth assist on Crosby's goal. Chris Kunitz had three points, with two goals and an assist, and Matt Cooke also had a pair of goals for the Penguins. Tomas Vokoun made 33 saves.

"I thought we worked pretty hard," said Crosby, who also had two assists. "We definitely made some mistakes, there's no question, but I thought we stayed pretty focused considering the mistakes we did make. We didn't let it frustrate us too much. We kept coming at them and it was kind of whoever was going to get the last one was going to win."

Max Pacioretty had a goal and an assist for Montreal, which also got goals from Brandon Prust, P.K. Subban and David Desharnais.

Carey Price stopped 29 shots.

The Canadiens, who play in Boston on Sunday, remain undefeated in regulation in their last 10 games (7-0-3).

"Going on the road is going to be a true test for us, playing back-to-back games against the No. 1 team," Pacioretty said. "We weren't up for the task today, but (Sunday) is a good challenge."

Subban drew Montreal even at 4-all with less than one second remaining in the second period. Desharnais gave the Canadiens their third lead when he picked up his own rebound and reached around Vokoun for his fifth goal and his first in seven games.

Sutter scored his first goal of the game with 53 seconds left in the opening period after Prust put away a rebound 5:41 in to open the scoring.

Pacioretty's seventh goal 4:14 into the second restored Montreal's one-goal lead at 2-1, but Pittsburgh responded with three unanswered goals, including a pair by Cooke, to take a 4-2 lead at 13:05.

Gionta deflected Francis Bouillon's point shot past Vokoun at 17:37 to draw the Canadiens within 4-3 and Subban's score tied it.

Desharnais scored Montreal's third straight goal 5:25 into the third period.

Kunitz, who scored 7:58 into the second, drew Pittsburgh even at 5 with his second goal of the game at 8:33.

NOTES: Penguins center Evgeni Malkin missed his fourth straight game because of a concussion. Malkin, the NHL's reigning MVP, had four goals and 17 assists for 21 points in 18 games when he was injured as the result of a hit by Florida's Erik Gudbransson on Feb. 22. ... Canadiens coach Michel Therrien had a 135-105-32 regular-season mark behind Pittsburgh's bench from 2005-09. Therrien guided the Penguins to the 2008 Stanley Cup final, where they lost to Detroit in six games. He had a 15-10 playoff record in Pittsburgh. ... Montreal defenseman Raphael Diaz missed his second straight game because of a concussion. Left wing Rene Bourque, who is also sidelined with a concussion, missed his fourth game in a row. ... Forward Gabriel Dumont did not dress for the Canadiens, who recalled him from AHL Hamilton on Friday. Dumont, who played three games for Montreal last season, was Hamilton's leading scorer with 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points in 52 games.