Sidney Crosby, Auston Matthews, Top Highlights from Jan. 14

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby typically doesn't wait long to make an impact on the ice after an extended absence. 

The 32-year-old continued that trend Tuesday, when he produced a goal and three assists in the Penguins' 7-3 win over the Minnesota Wild. 

According to NHL Public Relations, Crosby has played a role in a tally in each of his four returns from absences of 20 games or longer. Tuesday marked the second four-point performance of that collection of contests. 

Crosby wasn't the only star of the league to put on a show during the 11-game slate, as Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews earned a hat-trick in a win over the New Jersey Devils in which Blake Coleman notched three goals for the losing side. 

Tuesday NHL Scores

Buffalo 4, Vegas 2

Toronto 7, New Jersey 4

Tampa Bay 4, Los Angeles 3 (Final/Shootout)

New York Islanders 8, Detroit 2

Pittsburgh 7, Minnesota 3

Columbus 3, Boston 0

Chicago 3, Ottawa 2 (Final/Overtime) 

Winnipeg 4, Vancouver 0 

Dallas 3, Colorado 2 (Final/OT) 

Edmonton 4, Nashville 2

Arizona 6, San Jose 3

Sidney Crosby's 4-Point Return

Auston Matthews' Hat-Trick 

Jonathan Toews' Overtime Game-Winner

Connor McDavid Sets Up Edmonton's Game-Winning Goal 

Blake Coleman Produces 3 Goals In Defeat

Connor Hellebuyck Makes 41 Saves in Shutout

Elvis Merzlikins Earns Back-to-Back Shutouts

Filip Forsberg's Lacrosse-Style Goal 

John Tavares' Quick Deflection

Jack Eichel's Game-Winning Tally

Nikita Kucherov Forces Overtime

Steven Stamkos Goes Top Shelf in Shootout

Esa Lindell Sends Dallas Home A Winner

Taylor Hall's Redirected Close Range Goal

Jordan Eberle Earns 500th-Career Point

Crosby Excels in Return

It took seven minutes and 57 seconds for Crosby to contribute to his first Penguins goal since November. 

The Canadian notched the first of his three assists on Evgeni Malkin's opening tally. He followed that up with another handout to Malkin in the second period and then a goal and an assist in the closing stanza. 

In his first game action since November 9, he said he found a rhythm on the power play, per NHL.com's Wes Crosby. 

"It was good," Crosby said. "It helps when you get some power plays early. Still a couple shifts that I feel like were a little tough, but as far as rhythm, it helps to get on the power play early and get your feet under you a bit. Team played well."

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said "it's hard to get surprised" about what Crosby achieves on the ice, even when coming off a long injury layoff, per Pens Inside Scoop:

Pittsburgh played well without its captain, as it went 18-6-4, and it could use his return to spring a run at the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

The Capitals enter Wednesday with a four-point edge over the Penguins, and both are in the mix for home ice in the Eastern Conference. The Boston Bruins lead the Atlantic Division with 66 points. 

Crosby can make his impact on the playoff race in the next six contests, with Pittsburgh facing Boston twice and visiting Washington February 2. 

Matthews Adds to Scoring Total With Hat-Trick

One week after eclipsing the 30-goal barrier, Matthews added three to his second-best total in the NHL. 

The 22-year-old scored on the power play in the second period and then bagged a pair in the third period to move his season tally up to 34. 

His performance helped the Maple Leafs end a three-game losing run that was made worse by an 8-4 loss to the Florida Panthers Sunday. 

Matthews said after Tuesday's victory that he and his teammates wanted to bounce back from the weekend defeat, per NHL.com's Dave McCarthy. 

"Overall, we wanted to have a good bounce back game (after an 8-4 loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday)," he said. "There was a bit of a lull in the second period, some stuff we'd like to clean up and do better, but all in all, nice to get back in the win column." 

Since the new calendar year began, Matthews has found the back of the net on seven occasions with two multi-goal performances. 

With David Pastrnak and the Boston Bruins being shut out Tuesday, Matthews moved within two tallies of the NHL's current scoring leader. 

Wednesday's NHL Schedule

Chicago at Montreal (7:30 p.m. ET) 

Philadelphia at St. Louis (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN) 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.