PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby predicted during the holiday break that the spiraling Pittsburgh Penguins were about to get hot.

He was right, and he’s played a big role. But even he couldn’t have predicted how the Penguins would get two points out of this game.

On a night when the Penguins’ hostility toward the officiating almost boiled over, they overcame being short-handed on eight occasions to beat the high-flying Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in overtime at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.

Crosby scored twice early in the first period and punctuated the emotional victory by setting up Kris Letang, who was playing in his 1,200th career NHL game, for the game-winner.

Alex DeBrincat scored late in the third period to send the game to overtime. The Penguins, however, would not be deterred.

“We grinded for every little inch that we got tonight,” Letang said. “It was tough for guys that sit on the bench for four or five minutes straight. So I think we stayed with it. It could have been frustrating, but we did a pretty good job.”

In a rare occurrence, the Red Wings were given four power plays in the first period, including a four-minute double minor. This didn’t necessarily go over well with the Penguins. What really created fireworks, however, was when a couple of pretty clear Detroit infractions went unpenalized in the second period. Bryan Rust lost his cool to the point that he was given a two-minute penalty for abuse of officials when he let loose a barrage of expletives in the direction of the referee Cody Beach.

The Penguins regained their composure in the third period and took the lead when Blake Lizotte’s shot clanged off of Detroit defenseman Simon Edvinsson and past goaltender Cam Talbot.

Jack St. Ivany then accidentally fired a puck over the glass, and on Detroit’s eighth power play, DeBrincat evened the contest.

The Penguins had dodged a huge bullet earlier in the third when Lucas Raymond’s goal was reversed because of an offside challenge.

“It’s a weird game when you’re in the box that much,” said Crosby, who was penalized on the game’s first shift. “And just long, you know? With the reviews and the penalties, it felt like it dragged on. So it was good for us to stay in it and find a way to win that one.”

10 postgame observations 

• Let’s talk officiating. Rust is an intense competitor and isn’t shy about sparring with referees, but I’ve never seen him that upset. Some of the calls against the Penguins — the early call on Crosby, the delay-of-game infraction on St. Ivany and a double minor for high-sticking on Thomas Novak — were accurate and difficult to argue. A couple of other calls, however, were questionable. The real issue with the officiating, though, was in the second period. If you’re going to call the game tight, fine. But the Red Wings got away with one penalty after another during a time in which the Penguins were dictating play. It was astonishing that no calls were made during this stretch.