I’ll say this for our Penguins. They sure know how to wreck a story line. I had to alter mine not once but twice last night in the wake of our wild comeback. One that ultimately fell short, resulting in a disappointing 5-4 overtime loss to Ottawa.
I confess, I was all set to write our obituary, not only for the game but the season as well, following a somnambulant start that gave new meaning to the term “sloth like.” I’d seen enough to know I’d seen enough. But somehow our Pens found it in themselves to flip the script and stage a furious third-period rally to earn a point. A point that kept our flickering playoff hopes dangling by the proverbial thread.
If ever a game had T-R-A-P written all over it in big, block letters, this one did. And I’m not referring to Ottawa interim coach Jacques Martin’s favored style. Yet our guys opened the game with “one foot on the ice and one foot on the jet going home,” as radio color man Phil Bourque described it.
And make no mistake, the table was set for our boys. The Senators had lost six in a row, fired coach D.J. Smith, and were teetering in complete disarray. The two points were there for the taking. That’s what makes our lack of urgency, not to mention effort, so maddening.
Desperate for any sort of positive, the Sens didn’t need an engraved invitation to pounce. After his teammates collapsed our paperweight defense, Jakob Chychrun beat Alex Nedeljkovic from close range eleven minutes into the fray.
Having failed miserably on an extended 5-on-3 at the outset, our power play struck at 14:31. Our second unit passed the puck with breathtaking precision, culminating in a sharp-angle snipe from below the goal-line by Lars Eller. (Hope our top unit was taking notes.)
Cue an old bugaboo. On the ensuing shift the Sens’ top line outworked us down low. Brady Tkachuk muscled past Marcus Pettersson along the back wall and fed Josh Norris, who batted the puck past Nedeljkovic from point-blank range.
The Sens made it 3-1 early in the second frame, as Claude Giroux set up Tkachuk with a pinpoint diagonal pass for an easy tap-in goal.
The clouds parted, ever so briefly, just inside the four-minute mark. Working a give-and-go with Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell drove to the net and redirected Sid’s crisp return pass past Anton Forsberg for his first goal of the season.
Having clawed our way back, we promptly yielded another goal, this one of the heels of another failed power play. Erik Brännström hopped out of the box and joined Tkachuk on a 2-on-1. Nedeljkovic had no chance.
Down 4-2 through two periods, our guys had managed to squeeze off just 11 shots on goal. I had to keep checking the TV screen from my perch at the Primanti Brothers bar to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me.
Don’t know what was said between periods, or by whom. But suddenly the Pens discovered those legs they’d failed to use for two periods. Indeed, the third period resembled a 20-minute black-and-gold power play, as we outshot the Sens by a staggering 23-4 margin.
We struck early, at 1:51, courtesy of a net-front deflection by Drew O’Connor off a center-point blast from Pettersson. Finally engaged, we proceeded to pour over our hosts in waves.
Continuing to atone for his part in the Norris goal, Pettersson drew two defenders to him at the left point before putting the puck on a tee for defense partner Kris Letang. Tanger smoked Forsberg with a drive from center point to complete our comeback with 2:26 left in regulation.
Having fought all the way back, and in dramatic fashion to boot, we promptly gave the second point away a minute into overtime…literally. Evgeni Malkin fell while battling Chychrun at the point. Rakell scooped up the loose puck and tried to skate it out of danger, only to have his pocket picked. With Letang wandering in no-man’s land, Drake Batherson fed Tim Stützle all alone in front of Nedeljkovic for the game winner.
Puckpourri
Despite essentially taking two periods off, the Pens dominated the shot stats. According to Natural Stat Trick, we prevailed in shot attempts (77-50), shots on goal (34-26), scoring chances (36-19) and high-danger chances (15-8).
During the crazy quilt third period? We enjoyed an obscene edge in shot attempts (42-8), shots on goal (23-4), scoring chances (17-2) and high-danger chances (10-1). My word!
I have a hard time believing the Sens are as bad as they are. They’re teeming with good, young talent. I’m envious.
Our secret weapon, Ned, finally looked mortal, yielding five goals on 26 shots for an unsightly .808 save percentage. Still, hard to totally fault him on most of the Sens’ goals.
As far as overtime math is concerned, 71 + 58 = bad juju.
Letang may have notched the tying goal and enjoyed a three-point game (1+2), and maybe I caught him at the wrong times. But much like the Tanger of old, I thought his decision-making left a lot to be desired.
While I love the physical element he provides, it may be a matter of time before John Ludvig plays himself into a steady diet of press box nachos. He seems to fight the puck at times and committed a game-high three giveaways (and took two minor penalties) in only 8:32 of ice time.
I continue to be a talisman of sorts for our boys. While in transit, I turned on the car radio just in time to hear Rakell score his goal. Earlier, I’d mused that our third line of Eller, O’Connor and Radim Zohorna “might not score for another month.” Bingo. The Great Dane and DOC tickle the twine.
I can’t make this stuff up.
Mike Sullivan shook up his middle six, flip-flopping Malkin and Eller, with the desired effect. The Eller-Valtteri Puustinen–Reilly Smith trio had a Corsi of 85.71, Malkin-DOC-Zohorna 77.78.
Great to see Rakell net his first goal.
Erik Karlsson has a goal and five points in his past 17 games.
On Deck
The Pens (15-13-4, 34 points) enter the Christmas break five points out of a playoff spot. We travel to Long Island to take on the Islanders (16-8-9, 41 points) on Wednesday night in a crucial Metro matchup. The first of several in the coming weeks.
Other Rick, Caleb Di’Natale and I wish you and your loved ones a merry, blessed and safe Christmas!
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Rick
Typical Letang - had a hand in 3 of our goals but also had a hand in four of the
Senators goals - same old, same old.
Sullivan has to move Malkin from the #1 Power play unit and the Pen's are in
desperate need for a net front presence. Right now their wasting the offensive
repertoire that Karlsson brings to the table.