I’ll be honest. I wasn’t too enthused about the Penguins’ chances for victory ahead of last night’s clash with the piping hot Kings at PPG Paints Arena. Especially following the grim news that arguably our best defenseman, Marcus Pettersson, is out week-to-week.
My apprehension appeared well-founded when the visitors swarmed our boys from the opening draw, resulting in a goal by Penguin-killer Adrian Kempe a scant 33 seconds in. After doing a double-take to see who was in net (Alex Nedeljkovic and not Tristan Jarry), I thought it’s going to be a long night.
Then the Pens slowly but inexorably clawed their way back into the contest. Remarkably, we matched a speedy Kings team stride for stride, giving no quarter and receiving none.
Six minutes into the second frame, Evgeni Malkin knotted the score on an Ugly Betty goal at the net-front, with an assist from Michael Bunting. Geno’s seventh goal of the season and first since December 3.
The Kings reclaimed the lead five minutes later on a tally off the rush by speedy Alex Turcotte, but our boys hung tough.
With the Sidney Crosby line leading the way, we rallied again in the third period. With less than six minutes remaining in regulation, Sid made an astounding backhand pass from the sideboards and through traffic to Matt Grzelcyk, all alone in the left circle. “Gryz” measured Darcy Kuemper and fired, beating the Kings’ netminder high glove side to tie the score.
Borrowing a page from the past, coach Mike Sullivan used Cody Glass in the Jeff Carter role to win the opening faceoff in overtime, against Anže Kopitar no less. Except for a breakaway attempt by light-scoring blueliner Vladislav Gavrikov, the locals smartly controlled play in the extra stanza.
Just past the 100-second mark, Rickard Rakell fed countryman Erik Karlsson stationed at center point before bolting for the net in a give-and-go of sorts. RikRak flashed east-west in front of Kuemper just as Karlsson’s perfectly timed shot arrived, resulting in a gorgeous deflection off the crossbar and in for the OT winner.
How Swede it was! (Yes, I know. Weak.)
Bottom line?
A really impressive win over a really good team.
Puckpourri
The Pens evened their record at 14-14-5, or hockey .500. Thanks to our 7-2-1 run we have 33 points, one back from a wild-card spot.
Don’t look now. But since our disgraceful (and season turning?) loss to Utah back on November 23, we’ve beaten some very good teams, including the Canucks, Bruins, Panthers, Maple Leafs and now the Kings. It’s looking less and less like a case of smoke-and-mirrors and more like genuine improvement.
Could it be a case of the players learning each other and bonding as a team?
Perhaps.
Grzelcyk is a prime example. Since nearly earning a trip to the press box, he’s found his game or at the very least a way to be effective. He has eight points (a goal and seven helpers) in his past eight games.
Speaking of defensemen, Karlsson was flying last night. Man, can he skate.
A huge chunk of credit goes to Sullivan and the coaching staff. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t agree with every decision Sully makes (Matt Nieto…head scratch), but he’s pulled these guys together and has them playing as a team while ferreting out players who might not fit (Kevin Hayes).
Following the Utah debacle, this bunch looked for all the world like they wanted to lie down and die.
Sully wouldn’t let ‘em.
Too, he’s made necessary adjustments. The team’s playing with a nice blend of discipline and structure while remaining opportunistic, which he mentioned in his post-game comments.
Oh, and Ned recovered nicely to make 29 saves and backstop us to victory.
Please excuse the brevity of my recap, but I’ve got dog-sitting duties to tend to.
