Well, it wasn’t pretty. At all.
But the Pittsburgh Penguins still found a way to get it done on Thursday.
The Penguins went to overtime for the third consecutive game and won their second straight, as they narrowly defeated the Nashville Predators, 5-4, on a Bryan Rust goal just over a minute into the extra frame.
It was Rust’s second goal of the game and 14th on the season.
But, make no mistake: This was not an easy win for the Penguins.
Jonathan Marchessault scored on just the second shot of the game for Nashville – an unwelcome theme for the Penguins – and they only had nine shots through the first two periods. They were being outplayed by the Predators despite the 3-3 tie heading into the final frame.
Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Sidney Crosby – who scored his first goal in 11 games – got on the board to knot it up. And goaltender Tristan Jarry made some ten-bell saves on the penalty kill to keep them in the game during the second period.
And the third period was just as wild as the first two. Brady Skjei scored for the Predators on an egregious three-on-one after a negated icing 7:44 into the third to put the Preds up, 4-3.
But, shortly after, there was a scrum that involved Blake Lizotte, Erik Karlsson, and a gathering of Predators players. Lizotte tripped up Luke Evangelista – who potted the Predators’ second goal – and Mark Jankowski and Jeremy Lauzon ganged up on Lizotte afterwards before Karlsson stepped in.
Somehow, the Penguins ended up shorthanded, and Karlsson was furious. He used that fury to fuel an outstanding effort the rest of the game, and it paid off when he sniped one past Saros and some traffic to tie the game at 4-4 with 8:24 remaining in regulation.
It was chippy. It was sloppy. It certainly wasn’t Pittsburgh’s best effort.
But this is the kind of win a team needs to steal sometimes – especially one that’s fighting for a playoff spot.
“I think today was a battle out there from the puck drop,” Karlsson said. “I think they played well, we played well, both teams made some mistakes, both teams did some good things… but overall, I think both teams competed really hard. We were chasing pretty much the whole game, and it was nice to be able to come back twice and then get it done in overtime. Obviously, two huge points for us.”
And two huge points they were. The Penguins are now over NHL .500 for the first time since Oct. 16, and they now occupy sole possession of the second wild card spot for the time being.
“A month ago, we probably don’t win a game like that,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “I just think they’re developing a certain resilience and a certain belief that if we stay with it, then we can come back in games, and we’ve just got to compete. And that’s probably what I’m most proud of with the group.”
Here are some thoughts and observations from tonight’s game:
– I feel like a broken record at this point. But wow, was Crosby’s line phenomenal on Thursday.
After 11 games, Crosby finally found the back of the net during a second-period power play for his ninth of the season. This came one day after thanking Pittsburgh-based reporter Dave Molinari for asking him about his goal-scoring drought, as he said he usually breaks out of slumps when reporters start asking about them:
“It feels good,” Crosby said with regards to breaking his goal drought. “I hit the post five seconds before that, and when you see one go in, it’s nice. Hopefully, they start to go in in bunches now, but, yeah, definitely a relief to see one go in. Just a fun way to get some momentum there. I thought we built off that, and it was big in getting back in the game.”
And – since we’re talking about his line as a whole – let’s take a look at the rundown:
– Crosby: One goal, three assists
– Rust: Two goals, two assists
– Rakell: One goal, one assist
Once again, these guys combined for double-digit points on the night. Crosby has 14 points in his last 11 games. Rust has nine goals and 17 points in his last 11, and Rakell has eight goals and 14 points in his last 11.
This is, arguably, the best line in hockey right now, and this game was a perfect example of why the Pens need their stars to step up. The Pens had no life in this game. Sid and his line willed them back into it.
Pittsburgh can get all the depth scoring in the world. But they’re still going to need their top guys to come through in a big way on nights like this where not much is going their way.
– Part of the reason the top line was clicking on all cylinders was because their corresponding defense pairing was, too.
For the second straight game, the Karlsson-Matt Grzelcyk pairing was actually a very good one for the Penguins. They were both great in this game and helped that line in particular generate a ton of looks. And – as usual – they factored in on the offense, as Karlsson assisted on Crosby’s goal with a gorgeous slap-pass, and Grzelcyk collected the primary assist on Karlsson’s goal.
If this pairing can limit mistakes, they will be dangerous offensively. But that’s a big “if” in a long-term outlook. Even if they can’t sustain their defensive play, it will be an entertaining, high-event pairing.
– On the other hand, I did not think the top pairing of Kris Letang and Owen Pickering brought their best game on Thursday.
Letang committed a few ill-advised pinches that left Pickering hanging, including on that three-on-one leading to the Skjei goal. Pickering did it a few times as well and also lost coverage in the defensive zone on a few instances.
I’ve liked what I’ve seen from them so far as a pairing, but this was not their best effort. On that same note, however, I do expect to see some warts and growing pains in Pickering’s game as his minutes increase – and that’s okay. It’s going to happen.
He is a good young defenseman, and he did make a few nice defensive plays in the first period using his big frame to his advantage. I think this is one of those things that the Penguins just need to let him play through and learn through. I’m confident he’ll be better for it.
– Cody Glass and Philip Tomasino both faced the Predators for the first time since being dealt to Pittsburgh. And it was a bit of a mixed bag for both of them.
Tomasino started this game alongside Evgeni Malkin, but he and Glass actually flip-flopped in the second period. Glass had a few opportunities in the offensive zone that he passed on, but the defensive side of his game was good. He directly saved a goal with around 15 minutes left in the second period with a hard backcheck on an odd-man break for the Predators that would have made it 4-1. I like his 200-foot game.
You could really tell that Tomasino was fired up for this game. There are whispers that he did not leave Nashville on the best of terms, and you could see the jitters flow into his play a bit. He was gripping the stick a little tight and had a hard time handling passes and holding onto pucks.
Either way, the heart and effort was there from both players.
– Anthony Beauvillier has gone a little too quiet, and this directly coincides with Blake Lizotte’s reassignment to the fourth line.
His minutes are decreasing in nearly every game, and he only played five minutes and 16 seconds against Nashville. He took a bad penalty at the end of the first period that led to Evangelista’s goal, and he was benched for much of the second period because of that.
The third line in general has been almost completely ineffectual since Lizotte was taken off of it. I think it’s time to put him back up there, because that’s when he was at his best for the Penguins. And he brought out the best in Beauvillier, too.
I think that duo, plus one of Glass or Tomasino, could be a good line for the Penguins. Drew O’Connor, who is struggling to score, may be best-suited for a fourth-line role right now, anyway.
And honestly? Beauvillier needs to find the form he had earlier in the season, because minutes like this often lead to the press box if a player isn’t deployed on special teams. He’s looked good for most of this season, so I hope things start clicking for him again.
– Nashville’s penalty kill is very good. The Penguins needed quicker, shorter, more decisive passes to work around their aggressive man-on-man style, and it still wasn’t working for the majority of the evening. They’re No. 1 in the league for a reason.
And I thought the Penguins’ penalty kill looked a bit disjointed and out-of-structure to start the night – especially on that goal by Evangelista – but they were better as the game went on, and Jarry was their best penalty killer.
– The Penguins really pulled off a gutsy win. It’s the second straight game where they came from behind twice and won in overtime.
However, two things almost killed them tonight, and they are two bad habits that they need to resolve if they’re going to be a playoff team this season.
The first is discipline. Their lack of it nearly cost them this hockey game, as Beauvillier took that bad penalty, Lizotte took two bad penalties, and Karlsson took a bad penalty. Rakell also took a penalty, but that was only his second of the season, and it was an iffy call to say the least.
The Penguins’ penalty kill has been pretty good for the most part, but they can’t play with fire like that and expect to win too many hockey games. They need to play smarter with greater consistency.
The second is preparedness. They – once again – allowed a goal within the first five minutes of a hockey game. They have done that 18 times in 34 games this season.
That simply cannot happen. It’s kind of remarkable and inexplicable. They have been responding well and winning regardless, but they need to start playing ahead in some of these games. I think it chalks up to both team defense and goaltending.
If the Penguins can course-correct those two bad habits – even a little bit – they will be a much better hockey team more consistently. Even though they are now 8-2-1 in their last 11 games, there is still much room for improvement.
