Leafs Nip Penguins, 3-2, in OT

There are (very) rare occasions when an overtime loss feels like a win. Such was the case last night at Scotiabank Arena. Even though our Penguins fell to the Maple Leafs, 3-2, in OT, I think we were fortunate to garner a point.

To be clear, we didn’t play badly. Quite the opposite, in fact. We held a sizeable edge in shots on goal (32-23) and scoring chances, although much of that was due to a wide disparity in power-play opportunities (we had five, the Leafs two).

Although certainly not for a lack of effort, we didn’t quite seem to have the same hop or drive that we’ve displayed in recent outings. Playing for the fifth time in eight days will do that to a hockey team.

To my eye, the Pens weren’t quite as successful at jumping on loose pucks and getting bodies to the net, an integral part of our recent success. Which, in turn, allowed Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov to settle in a groove.

Again, a sign to my eye that we were a little low on gas.

However, we were able to follow our recent script on our two goals.

On our first tally at 18:06 of the opening period, Michael Bunting hounded Ilya Luybushkin into a turnover. Evgeni Malkin made a great read to pick off the puck, in the process outworking David Kampf, before feeding Rickard Rakell. With Bunting planted squarely in front of Samsonov, Rakell spun and scored on a far-side snipe.

On our second goal, which knotted the score at 2-all with 6:22 to play in regulation, Drew O’Connor dug the puck loose from a corner scrum and slipped it to up the wall to Sidney Crosby. While DOC made a bee-line for the net, Sid found a seam and fed Pierre-Olivier Joseph at the left point. POJ slung a low drive to the net that found its way past Samsonov to O’Connor stationed behind the Leafs’ goalie. The big winger slammed the puck home.

In between, the Leafs struck twice. Power forward Matthew Knies got body position on Jeff Carter and banged home a net-front feed from T.J. Brodie at 5:36 of the second period. Auston Matthews notched the go-head goal at 1:22 of the third period on a blistering back-foot drive from the high slot on the power play.

A shame we couldn’t skip 3-on-3 overtime and go straight to the shootout. Once we got to the extra stanza, our bad, old ways prevailed. Following an early thrust, O’Connor, Lars Eller and Erik Karlsson were trapped on the ice for a full 90 seconds. With our guys legs burning and tongues dragging, Matthews hit Jake McCabe with a backdoor pass. The Leafs’ defender cut straight to the net unfettered and beat Alex Nedeljkovic for the OT winner.

Puckpourri

The Pens dominated the shot-based stats according to Natural Stat Trick, with advantages in shot attempts (75-56), shots on goal (32-23), scoring chances (36-23) and high-danger chances (16-10). However, the Leafs did a great job of pressuring our puck carrier and for the most part kept us from finding our rhythm.

Sid endured a rough few minutes near the end of the second period. He was run into the goal post by McCabe, which drew a penalty, and high-sticked in the mush by Bobby McMann (which didn’t). Then he and Matthews collided, sending both superstars to the ice.

I held my breath…it was the type of blind collision that led to Sid’s near-career ending concussion issues all those years ago. Mercifully, he was unfazed. He was FLYING in the third period prior to our game-tying goal.

I’ve probably written this about a million times. But the level of detail in his game is off-the-charts.

I keep expecting Nedeljkovic, who’s not a big goalie, to wear down under the heavy workload. But there he was in the third period, making critical saves on Max Domi and John Tavares to keep us in the game.

Hopefully with two days off he can rest and recharge.

I thought Bunting played an inspired game against his old team. He finished a plus-1, with six shots on goal and three hits. Love his moxie.

Joseph continues to quietly reclaim a lost season. Over his past 10 games POJ has two goals and six points to go with a plus-7. In the process morphing from passenger to solid contributor.

I was surprised to see Ryan Reaves dress for the Leafs. It’s not like the Pens are packed with heavies.

Still Missing the Cutoff Man…

In the movie, League of Their Own, Rockford Peaches manager Jimmy Dugan (played to perfection by Tom Hanks) reprimanded outfielder Evelyn Gardner for her errant throws.

“You’re still missing the cutoff man,” Dugan/Hanks said, trying desperately to restrain himself after one of her off-target relays contributed to a loss in the championship game. “Now that’s something I’d like you to work on before next season.”

Ditto our 3-on-3 overtime. We famously (or infamously) don’t practice it and are epically bad at it, going 3-9 this season in games decided in OT.

Like Evelyn’s botched throws, let’s hope those surrendered points don’t come back to haunt us.

Same goes for the power play (oh-for-five last night).

On Deck

The Pens (36-30-12, 84 points) face the Red Wings (38-31-8, 84 points) at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night. Words can’t express how critical this game is. Simply put…a must win.

Although we’re tied with them in points, the Wings hold the second wild-card spot due to a game in hand. They host the Capitals tonight, who are one point behind us, also with a game in hand.

I have no idea who to root for…