Sidney Crosby and Mitch Marner fall to injuries, Lightning sweep their two-game Global Series with the Sabres, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: The Pittsburgh Penguins nipped the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in a shootout but lost captain Sidney Crosby to a lower-body injury in the third period. The Penguins overcame a 2-0 deficit to force overtime and the shootout.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: No word yet as to the severity of Crosby’s injury. We could learn more later today.

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner suffered an ankle injury during his club’s 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers (Photo via NHL Images)

The Philadelphia Flyers blew a 2-0 lead but went on to down the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on a shootout goal by Sean Couturier. Leafs forward Mitch Marner left the game early in the second period with an ankle injury and didn’t return.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Leafs coach Mike Babcock was uncertain over the status of Marner’s injury. An update could come today or tomorrow.

Patrick Maroon tallied two goals and Curtis McElhinney kicked out 40 shots as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-3 to sweep their two-game Global Series. The Sabres have dropped five straight games.

Nicklas Backstrom scored twice as the league-leading Washington Capitals picked up their sixth consecutive win by beating the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2.  John Carlson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Jakub Vrana each collected two points for Washington. Capitals winger Carl Hagelin missed the game with an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.

The St. Louis Blues picked up their seventh straight victory by downing the Calgary Flames 3-2 on an overtime goal by David Perron. Ryan O’Reilly and Alex Pietrangelo each had two-point nights for the Blues. Flames forward Elias Lindholm had his points streak end at nine games.

Cale Makar scored twice and Pavel Francouz made 39 stops as the Colorado Avalanche doubled up the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2. The Jackets have dropped six of their last seven games. Team captain Nick Foligno was tossed from the game for an elbow to the head of Avs’ forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who left the game and didn’t return.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: No word on how long Bellemare could be sidelined. The Avs are already missing Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, Philipp Grubauer, and Colin Wilson. Defenseman Nikita Zadorov was the latest to join their ranks, listed as week-to-week following surgery to mend a broken jaw.

The New York Islanders extended their points streak to 12 games by edging the Florida Panthers 2-1. They’ve picked up wins in 11 of those contests. Thomas Greiss made 37 saves while Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist. Winger Jordan Eberle returned to the lineup and prevented a Panthers’ goal with a game-turning goal-line save.

Ottawa Senators forwards Vladislav Namestnikov and Jean-Gabriel Pageau set a franchise record with second-period goals within four seconds of each other to upset the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1. The Hurricanes have dropped four straight contests. They also revealed center Erik Haula (knee injury) could be sidelined longer than anticipated.

Shea Weber scored two first-period goals and Carey Price made 31 saves as the Montreal Canadiens held on for a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. The Canadiens have won five of their last seven games. Kings forward Trevor Lewis missed the game with a lower-body injury and will be reassessed on Monday.

The Minnesota Wild tallied three unanswered goals to squeak past the Arizona Coyotes 4-3. Kevin Fiala, Ryan Suter, and Jared Spurgeon had two points each. This was the fourth consecutive time the Coyotes blew a lead and went down to defeat.

Timo Meier scored in the seventh round of a shootout to give the San Jose Sharks a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Tomas Hertl scored the game-tying goal for the Sharks. Filip Forsberg tallied for the Predators.

SPORTSNET: New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal will be sidelined at least two weeks following surgery to address an infection in his ankle.