Well, our Penguins finally did it! They played a reasonably complete 60-minute game (62:35 actually) last night in the friendly confines of PPG Paints Arena and were rewarded with a snappy 2-1 overtime victory over the creamsicle-orange Ducks. In the process, snapping an ugly 0-5-1 slide.
Almost as important as garnering the two points? The way we played. Disciplined. Forceful, as evidenced by our whopping 46-23 edge in shots on goal, but under control.
“It was one of our more complete games,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought we controlled territory. We played more of a north-south, straight-ahead game. We put pucks behind their defensemen when there wasn’t any ice to play on the entries. We managed the puck better in those critical areas of the rink, I thought for the most part, all night long. As a result, we got a significant amount of offensive zone time. We got a significant amount of scoring chances without compromising our offense by playing a more calculated game.”
Indeed, there were very few glaring defensive lapses and breakdowns, at least until the closing minutes of regulation when we began swapping chances with the Ducks. Marcus Pettersson, surprisingly wobbly this season, was victimized on a couple of plays. However, Alex Nedeljkovic made several huge stops with the game on the line.
That puck luck I referred to? Aided by a sprawling Pettersson, Nedeljkovic made an unconscious save to keep the puck out, but lost his stick in the process. With Ned down and out, the wayward lumber acted on its own to thwart a sure-fire goal by hot-shot rookie Cutter Gauthier.
After surviving an early OT push by the Ducks, thanks to some good old fashioned blood-n-guts play by Lars Eller, Cody Glass forced Gauthier into a turnover along the boards.
Sidney Crosby scooped up the loose biscuit, nudged it to an open spot, corralled it, then coolly outwaited Ducks netminder Lukáš Dostál before tucking the OT winner just under the crossbar. (Sidenote: Dostál’s a stud…incredibly impressive.)
No. 87 notched our first goal as well at 1:47 of the third period with a heady deflection of a nifty Matt Grzelcyk shot-pass. Following a prolonged funk, Sid now has a pair of goals and three helpers in his past two contests.
Credit coach Sullivan for pulling out all stops and joining Sid, Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell on a souped-up top line. Geno, in particular, was really zooming.
Other shout-outs go to Nedeljkovic, tough when he had to be, and Michael Bunting, who was at his buzz-saw, annoying best. “Bunts” unleashed five shots on goal and buzzed the Ducks’ net with intent. I’d hoped he’d be rewarded with his first goal of the season, but no sale.
Soon, perhaps.
Speaking of pests, Blake Lizotte made his black-and-gold debut, replacing healthy scratch Jesse Puljujärvi. Man, can he fly. Would like to have seen more of him but, alas, he received the Sully treatment (5:39 of ice time).
For the record, I was extremely impressed with Gauthier. He’s forceful, super-skilled and can really skate.
With Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish and Troy Terry serving as the core, the Ducks possess a ton of young talent. Perhaps a glimpse into the Pens’ future, say, three or four years down the road. But I digress.
Bottom line? The Pens played the way they need to play in order to be successful. Let’s see if they can lather, rinse, repeat against the Canadiens on Saturday night.
