Penguins Rally Again, Grab Rubber Match with Philly

I think I’ve finally discovered the key to the Penguins’ success. If I don’t watch, we win.

Such was the case yesterday afternoon. Otherwise detained, I was able to view very little of the action. The only part I saw was the Flyers celebrating Shayne Gostisbehere’s go-head second-period goal. Lest you think I’m a total jinx, I also tuned in on the radio while in transit to catch Jared McCann’s game-winner.

From reading accounts of the affair, it sounded like a choppy, penalty-marred game without a whole lot of ebb-and-flow. But we put on our big-boy pants, overcame some adversity…not to mention a deflating loss two days earlier…and wrestled two huge points from the Flyers with a 4-3 victory. Naturally, of the comeback variety.

While it would’ve been nice to sweep the three-game set and gain six points on the Flyers, to borrow from the Meatloaf classic, two out of three ain’t bad.

The game sure didn’t start out well. Philly drew first blood on a tally by nettlesome Travis Konecny off a 2-on-0, thanks to an absolutely dreadful giveaway by Sam Lafferty. FYI: four of Konecny’s six goals this season have come against the black and gold, which places him squarely in the Jordan Eberle/Conor Sheary nemesis class.

Just over 100 seconds later the Pens knotted the score, thanks to a sensational bit of teamwork by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Working with the man advantage, Sid found Geno with a beautiful cross-ice pass and No. 71 did the rest, freezing goalie Brian Elliott at the near post and scoring on a wraparound. Vintage Malkin.

The Pens stretched their lead with a rare second power-play goal at the 18-minute mark. You’ve heard of Tinker to Evers to Chance? This was Malkin to Crosby to Jake Guentzel to Bryan Rust for a tap-in at the doorstep. “Tac-tac-goal,” announcer Steve Mears gushed.

It’s the second slice-and-dice job for the power play in the past three games. Perhaps we’re finally getting the hang of it.

Of course, our boys never do things the easy way. Such was the case again yesterday. Big Kevin Hayes struck for a power-play goal of his own just 1:20 into the second period to tie the game at 2-2. Followed by Gostisbehere’s long-range tally with Jakub Voracek providing a perfectly timed screen.

However, as we’ve done all season long, our guys rallied to tie the game late in the period on a shot by Zach Aston-Reese from an impossibly sharp angle. Shades of Mario Lemieux beating Eddie Belfour in the ’92 Cup Finals.

McCann supplied the icing on the cake midway through the third period. Following Brandon Tanev to the net with a nice bit of hustle, Jared whipped home a rebound before doing a somersault over Elliott’s outstretched pad. A painful but appropriate way to celebrate a huge game-winning goal.

Puckpourri

Malkin earned star of the game honors with a goal and an assist. Following a dreadful start to the season, the big Russian has quietly picked up the pace with a pair of goals and nine points in his past nine games. He and McCann (three goals and an assist in five games since returning from injury) seem to display good chemistry.

Crosby, Guentzel and Tanev collected two assists each. The latter was named No. 2 star of the game.

The Pens outshot the Flyers, 27-22, but got massacred in the faceoff circle, winning only 35 percent of the draws.

Brian Dumoulin and Evan Rodrigues returned to the lineup. “Dumo” had three hits, a shot on goal and a takeaway in 23:46 of ice time while slotting next to his old partner, Kris Letang. Rodrigues had two blocks, two giveaways and a takeaway in 10:39 of ice time. The time off didn’t seem to help his hands…he hit the post on an empty-net attempt from close range.

Of our remaining 33 games, nearly half (16) are against East Division bottom feeders Buffalo and New Jersey (eight games each). While it’s tempting to breathe a sigh of relief, our guys have a habit of playing down to the competition. Our record last season against the Sabres and Devils? A combined 3-3.

The Pens are presently tied with Philly for fourth in the East with 27 points, but the Flyers have a better points percentage. They also have two games in hand. We hold a four-point bulge over tonight’s opponent, the sixth-place Rangers. New York has a game in hand.