Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) collects a rebound off Dallas Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin (35) and scores during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) collects a rebound off Dallas Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin (35) and scores during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Credit: Gene J. Puskar

Pittsburgh — Sidney Crosby returned from an upper-body injury to pick up a goal and two assists and the Pittsburgh Penguins drilled the Dallas Stars, 5-1, on Wednesday night.

The Pittsburgh captain missed three games after getting hurt last week, the latest setback during a forgettable early opening quarter of the season for the perennial Stanley Cup contenders.

Crosby provided Pittsburgh with a needed spark. He set up Jake Guentzel for a goal less than 4 minutes into the game and provided a highlight-reel marker later in the opening period when he raced to the net and smacked in a rebound past Anton Khudobin to give Pittsburgh a three-goal lead.

Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist and Tanner Pearson also scored for the Penguins. Two days after letting a 4-1 advantage disappear in a loss to Buffalo, Pittsburgh clamped down on the Stars. Casey DeSmith was rarely tested early and finished with 18 saves.

Capitals 4, Blackhawks 2

Washington — Tom Wilson, Andre Burakovsky and Michal Kempny scored to give Washington an early lead, and the Capitals held on to beat Chicago.

Devante Smith-Pelly also scored for Washington, which won its third straight. The Caps’ previous two victories came in overtime. Braden Holtby stopped 37 shots for the Capitals. Brandon Saad and Erik Gustafsson scored for Chicago.

Rangers 5, Islanders 0

New York — Alexandar Georgiev stopped 29 shots for his first career shutout, Filip Chytil scored for the fifth straight game, and the Rangers beat the crosstown-rival Islanders.

Chris Kreider had a goal and an assist, and Cody McLeod, Neal Pionk and Kevin Hayes also scored to help the Rangers win for the ninth time in 11 games (9-1-1).

Devils 5, Canadiens 2

Newark, n.j. — Pavel Zacha scored twice, Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist, and New Jersey beat Montreal.

The teams were tied 1-1 in the first period before New Jersey scored four straight goals. Kyle Palmieri and Nico Hischier also scored for the Devils, and Keith Kinkaid stopped 24 shots to end the team’s two-game skid.

Hurricanes 5, Maple Leafs 2

Raleigh, n.c. — Trevor van Riemsdyk and Justin Williams scored 22 seconds apart in the first period, sending Carolina over Toronto. Curtis McElhinney made 30 saves as Carolina snapped Toronto’s four-game winning streak.