#Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby in big NHL bubble trouble

As the NHL’s play-in round heats up, two of the league’s biggest stars are on the verge of elimination.

Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins allowed three consecutive goals from the Montreal Canadiens to end Game 3 down 4-3 Wednesday night, dropping to 1-2 in the series and tasked with keeping their season alive Friday afternoon.

With three points (two goals, one assist) during this best-of-five series, Crosby brought his career playoff point total to 189 (68 goals, 121 assists) in 13 postseasons with Pittsburgh.

The Penguins lost Game 1 in overtime, with Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry registering the game-winning goal and securing the 3-2 win. Following a two-point performance from Jake Guentzel in Game 2, Pittsburgh tied the series with a 3-1 win on Monday. Petry scored the game-winner on Wednesday night.

“It’s pretty clear cut when you’re in that situation. You’ve got to go out there and find a way to win a hockey game,” Crosby said, per TribLive. “That’s the way it feels right now.”

Connor McDavid and the Oilers are also staring at elimination after a two-goal game from Jonathan Toews, including the game-winner with under two minutes left in regulation, stole a come-from-behind 4-3 win Wednesday for the Blackhawks.

As time expired in the second, McDavid notched his fifth goal of the series on the power play to give Edmonton a 3-2 lead heading into the third before the Blackhawks rallied. McDavid now has seven points this series, including two assists. He now has 16 points in two postseasons with the Oilers, which includes five goals and four assists from the 2016-17 season.

“We didn’t get off to the start we wanted, but we took over the first period after they got one,” said McDavid, per the Edmonton Sun. “Then just far too many penalties. The refs are calling lots of stuff, we know that, we just have to be more disciplined.

“But the penalty kill did a great job keeping us in it and we got ourselves back in the game, and in control of the game. Then two shots from the point end up in the net.”

The Penguins and Oilers were the No. 5 seeds in their respective conferences, going against No. 12 seeds — the final team to qualify in each conference — in the Blackhawks and Canadiens.