They say confession is good for the soul.
I confess here and now for public consumption, I fully expected our Penguins to lose their crucial Metro Division matchup with the Devils last night at the Prudential Center. Especially following our inspired but emotionally draining victory over the Rangers the night before. So when our hosts throttled us with their superior speed and grabbed a 3-1 lead after two periods, I wasn’t the least bit surprised.
Too, they’d beaten us seven straight times going back to the 2021-22 season. Young legs versus old ones.
Then our captain, Sidney Crosby, did something he’s done all season long…dragged us into the fight. On a power-play goal, no less, 6:48 into the final period. It was truly a team effort as every black-and-gold skater on the ice had a hand in the goal, including Michael Bunting, who took full advantage of open space to move the puck to Bryan Rust, who in turn sent a cross-crease pass to Sid for the finish. In the process, igniting the fuse on our competitive fire.
Sixty-seven seconds later we knotted the score at 3-all. Bunting again played an integral role, passing the puck to Jack St. Ivany at center point. Just as the rookie defender’s shot neared the net, Evgeni Malkin flashed through the slot and deflected the puck between his own legs and past Devils netminder Jake Allen. An incredible display of skill that harkened back to his glory days.
The Devils were visibly stunned. After all, they’d had their way with us for what seems like forever.
Then came the explosion. In a virtual replay of Malkin’s game-tying goal, Rickard Rakell deflected Marcus Pettersson’s shot from the left side boards past Allen at 16:16 to stake us to a 4-3 lead. The blare from the siren had scarcely subsided when Geno struck again, again on a deflection and again courtesy of a cross-crease shot/pass, this one from Bunting.
In desperation, Devils coach Travis Green pulled Allen with over three minutes to play. Crosby struck for the empty-net put away at 17:07, poking the puck off the stick of Quinn Hughes and into the unguarded Devils net.
Wow.
Make that WOW.
Forgive me if my summary falls short of the mark. In all honesty, I’m still kind of stunned…like my eyes can’t believe what they’ve witnessed. My guess is, the Devils are stunned, too. Maybe the Pens as well.
I’m reminded of the closing monologue from the hockey classic Miracle, narrated by Kurt Russell. In my humble opinion one of the greatest and most inspirational movies of all time.
“On one weekend, as America and the world watched, a group of remarkable young men gave the nation what it needed most—a chance, for one night, not only to dream, but a chance, once again, to believe.”
For one night our aging, shop-worn Pens provided us with the same.
A chance, once again, to believe.
Puckpourri
According to Natural Stat Trick, the Devils had the edge in shot attempts (55-51), shots on goal and scoring chances (26-21 each). We held sway in high-danger chances (9-8).
Much has been made of the soft nature of our defense, but last night the Devils ‘d’ allowed us to buzz their net with impunity. We took full advantage.
Perhaps by design, we’ve been using the cross-crease pass to great effect of late, resulting in a number of side-of-the-net, back-door goals.
With two goals and an assist, Malkin was simply superb. He and linemates Bunting and Rakell each finished a plus-4.
Bunting registered two assists and was a key contributor on two other goals. While I’m not suggesting he’s an apples-to-apples replacement for Jake Guentzel, in many ways the plucky winger’s been just what the doctor ordered.
Sid had a pair of goals, Rust two helpers. Erik Karlsson notched our first goal at 7:54 of the opening frame, in the process snapping his prolonged 18-game goalless drought.
I repeat, I really like the look of St. Ivany, who notched his first NHL point and delivered two hits and a blocked shot in 15:45 of ice time. Only wish we’d called him up sooner.
Joel Blomqvist was recalled on an emergency basis in the wake of Tristan Jarry’s illness to back up Alex Nedeljkovic. Speaking of Ned, goodness, what a job he’s doing. He’s giving us a chance to win each and every night while making the big saves, like his stop on a Dawson Mercer breakaway attempt with five minutes to go in the second period that bordered on grand larceny.
Ned’s started every game during our six-game points streak (4-0-2). Again, shades of Alex Lyon and the Panthers’ miracle stretch run from last season. Ironically, the Red Wings signed Lyon last summer to replace Ned.
On Deck
The Pens (34-30-11, 79 points) complete their road trip on Thursday night with a crucial Metro clash against the Capitals (36-28-10, 82 points). Who’d have thought a contest between the two aging lions would have such significance at this late juncture?
Certainly not I.
Nor did I even remotely think we’d still be in the playoff hunt at this stage, but we are. We trail the Caps by three points in the wild-card picture (they have a game in hand) and third-place Philly by four points (with two games in hand).
What seemed like an impossibility only a week ago suddenly seems doable.
To quote late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, just win baby.
