Rust scores twice, including OT winner, to lead Penguins over Predators 5-4

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Bryan Rust scored his second goal of the game 1:07 into overtime and Sidney Crosby had a season-high four points as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Nashville Predators 5-4 on Thursday night.

Rust also had two assists and Crosby finished with a goal and three assists. Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson each had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who have won three of four. Tristan Jarry made 22 saves.

Crosby, the Pitsburgh captain, snapped a 10-game goal drought.

Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Luke Evangelista and Brady Skjei scored for Nashville. Juuse Saros stopped 15 shots, and Filip Forsberg had two assists.

In overtime, Rust took a pass from Evgeni Malkin in the slot and snapped a wrist shot past Saros. The Penguins trailed most of the night and never held the lead until Rust ended the game.

Pittsburgh has gone to OT in three consecutive games, going 2-0-1.

The Predators are 1-7 in games that went to overtime this season.

Penguins: Despite putting just nine shots on Saros in the first two periods, the Penguins were efficient with those shots, scoring three goals.

Predators: Nashville followed up Tuesday’s victory over the New York Rangers with a loss. The Predators have not won consecutive games since winning three straight from Oct. 22-26.

With the Penguins trailing 3-1 nearly midway through the second period, Crosby and Rakell scored 1:14 apart to tie it.

The Penguins have earned at least one point in 12 of their last 14 games against Nashville, going 10-2-2.

The Penguins visit the New Jersey Devils, while the Predators host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Nashville Predators center Mark Jankowski (17) hits Pittsburgh Penguins center Blake Lizotte (46) to the ice as Predators defenseman Jeremy Lauzon (3) looks on during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. The Penguins won 5-4 in overtime. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) hits the puck away from Nashville Predators center Ryan O'Reilly (90) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. The Penguins won 5-4 in overtime. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Nashville Predators defenseman Brady Skjei (76) celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Rickard Rakell (67) celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Nashville Predators center Ryan O'Reilly (90) shoots the puck past Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Michael Bunting (8) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Members of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate the team's 5-4 overtime win against the Nashville Predators after an NHL hockey game Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson, center, celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. The Penguins won 5-4 in overtime. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) passes the puck past Pittsburgh Penguins center Blake Lizotte (46) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Congress has until midnight Friday to come up with a way to fund the government or federal agencies will shut down, meaning hundreds of thousands of federal employees could be sent home — or stay on the job without pay — just ahead of the holidays.

Republicans abandoned a bipartisan plan Wednesday to prevent a shutdown after President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk came out against it. Trump told House Speaker Mike Johnson to essentially renegotiate the deal days before a deadline when federal funding runs out.

On Thursday, Republicans did just that, putting together a revamped government funding proposal that would keep the government running for three more months and suspend the debt ceiling for two years, until Jan. 30, 2027. But the bill failed overwhelmingly in a House vote hours later, leaving next steps uncertain.

Early Friday, some of Johnson's biggest critics brought their grievances to a private meeting in his Capitol office to seek a way forward, but some expressed doubts a new vote would happen before the deadline.

Here's what to know about a possible government shutdown, what agencies would be affected and how long it could last:

A government shutdown happens when Congress doesn't pass legislation either temporarily or more permanently funding the government, and such a measure isn't signed by the president.

If Congress doesn’t approve a continuing resolution or more permanent spending measure by Friday, the federal government will shut down.

When the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Congress passed a temporary funding bill to keep the government in operation.

That measure expires on Friday.

Each federal agency determines its own plan for how to handle a shutdown, but basically any government operations deemed non-essential stop happening, and hundreds of thousands of federal employees see their work disrupted.

Sometimes workers are furloughed, meaning that they keep their jobs but temporarily don’t work until the government reopens. Other federal workers may stay on the job but without pay, with the expectation that they would be paid back in full once the government reopens.

The basic rules for who works and who doesn’t date back to the early 1980s and haven’t been significantly modified since. Under a precedent-setting memorandum penned by then-President Ronald Reagan budget chief David Stockman, federal workers are exempted from furloughs if their jobs are national security-related or if they perform essential activities that “protect life and property.”

Essential government agencies like the FBI, the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard remain open. Transportation Security Administration officers would continue to staff airport checkpoints. The U.S. Postal Service also won't be affected because it’s an independent agency.

But national parks and monuments would close, and while troops would stay at their posts, many civilian employees in agencies like the Department of Defense would be sent home. Court systems would be affected, too, with civil proceedings paused, while criminal prosecutions continue.

Automated tax collection would stay on track, but the Internal Revenue Service would stop auditing tax returns.

No. Recipients of both Social Security and Medicare would continue to receive their benefits, which are part of mandatory spending that's not subject to annual appropriations measures. Doctors and hospitals would also continue to get their Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

But it's possible that new applications wouldn't be processed. During a government shutdown in 1996, thousands of Medicare applicants were turned away daily.

When Congress is down to the wire on passing measures to fund the federal government, the term “CR” often comes up. What does it mean?

“CR” stands for “continuing resolution,” and it’s a temporary spending bill that lets the federal government stay open and operating before Congress and the president have approved a more permanent appropriation.

A “clean CR” is essentially a bill that extends existing appropriations, at the same levels as the prior fiscal year.

It's a massive, all-encompassing measure that lawmakers generally had little time to digest — or understand — before voting on it.

There are a lot of spending measures all rolled into one, and sometimes that’s what happens if the dozen separate funding measures haven’t worked their way through the congressional spending process in time to be passed in order to fund the federal government.

But Republicans opted against an omnibus this time, hoping instead to renegotiate all federal spending next year when Trump is in the White House and they will control both chambers of Congress.

Maybe — and maybe not.

There is often a scramble on Capitol Hill to put together a last-minute funding package to keep the government open just before a deadline, at least temporarily. But shutdowns have happened, most recently six years ago, when Trump demanded funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. That shutdown was the longest in U.S. history.

Jimmy Carter saw a shutdown every year during his term as president. And there were six shutdowns during Reagan's time in the White House.

Kinnard reported from Charleston, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP.

FILE—Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., joined from left by Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., leaves a news conference after presenting his final version of an interim pending bill to his caucus, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. President-elect Donald Trump has now abruptly rejected the bipartisan plan to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown. Instead, he's telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)