WOW! Penguins Chase Down CBJ, Prevail 5-4 in OT

Forgive me if I stumble a bit out of the blocks with my recap. I’m just thoroughly stunned…happily so…in the wake of our incredible, stupendous 5-4 overtime victory over the CBJ in Columbus this afternoon.

Would anyone have remotely seen this coming after we went down 4-1 early in the second period?

Certainly not I.

Actually, I’d like to think I had a little something to do with the win. You see, I tuned in a little late following my afternoon constitutional. As soon as I did, the CBJ scored two goals…BANG BANG…within 27 seconds to erase our early one-goal lead.

It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been bad luck for our favored hockey team. Thinking it was going to be one of those games, I ventured back out again to walk my favorite pup, Zeusie, an adorable pit bull. After giving him plenty of opportunity to sniff (and contribute to) the yellow snow, I tuned back into the game just in time to catch Noel Acciari’s goal with just over three minutes remaining in the second period.

So you could say I tooketh away and gaveth back.

In all seriousness, Acciari’s goal provided a huge spark and rewarded the team for a period well-played. I’m sure it provided our guys with a huge boost while planting a seed of doubt in the collective minds of the CBJ. As poor as we are at protecting third-period leads, the Blue Jackets are nearly as bad.

And so it came to pass. Tommy Novak drilled a nifty feed from Ben Kindel past Jet Greaves for a power-play marker at 3:28 to close the gap to 4-3.

As they’d done throughout the second period, the Pens continued to pour over the CBJ like Escuminac Maple Syrup over a stack of flapjacks while piling up a 30-13 edge in shot attempts. However, try as they might, they couldn’t net the tying goal.

Fortunately, Arturs Silovs, fully recovered from a shaky start, made several clutch saves to keep us within striking distance.

Then, with the final seconds of regulation draining off the clock and Silovs pulled for an extra attacker, Kris Letang initiated a Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance passing play that wound up on Sidney Crosby’s stick blade. Sid delivered a sharp pass to Anthony Mantha at the side of the cage. The big guy moved the puck quickly to Rickard Rakell, who whipped it past Greaves from the low slot to knot the score.

I was ecstatic and honestly would’ve been thrilled just to get a point out of the proceedings. Thankfully, our Pens went for two.

A shade over two minutes into the extra stanza, Crosby boldly stepped onto the ice and set sail for the CBJ zone. (I say boldly, because technically Novak, the man he was replacing, was still on the ice.)

Straddling the blue line, Erik Karlsson spotted No. 87 breaking toward the net and hit him with a perfect pass. Unencumbered, Sid sliced in front of Greaves, put on more moves than Mae West to open up the five-hole, and slipped the OT winner through the wickets.

Puckpourri

Following a sluggish first period, wholly understandable given they’d played the day before, the Pens crackled to life to the tune of 67 shot attempts (and 34 shots on goal) over the final 42 minutes and change, according to Natural Stat Trick.

For the game, we ran up a staggering 92-53 advantage in shot attempts.

When Silovs yielded two goals on the first five shots he faced, it indeed, looked like it was going to be one of those games. But the 24-year-old Latvian stiffened and turned aside 18 of 20 the rest of way to register his fourth-straight victory between the pipes.

Rookie Ben Kindel likewise had an oopsie that led directly to the CBJ’s second goal by Mason Marchment (their version of Justin Brazeau). But the kid shook it off and assisted on Novak’s goal, his second helper of the afternoon. His first came on Ville Koivunen’s game-opening goal 1:50 in. A surprise not only because Koivunen scored (only his second of the season) but also because he was in the lineup to begin with.

In what might prove to be another sage move by our rookie coach, Dan Muse elected to sit Rutger McGroarty, who’d had a hand in the lone Red Wings’ goal the game before. Good on you, Dan. Create a little competition. Make the kids (and everyone else, for that matter) earn their playing time.

Along those lines, Jack St. Ivany, who I like, was on the ice for a couple of goals against (a couple for, too) and looked just a step behind the play. I wonder if we might see Connor Clifton reinserted when we resume play against the Devils on Thursday. Not on a full-time basis, mind you, but just for a change of pace.

Newcomer Yegor Chinakhov picked up the second assist on Sid’s OT winner and registered two shots on goal. He was greeted with a smattering of boos from the CBJ faithful.

That’s okay, we’ll take him…and gladly.

Speaking of new acquisitions, Egor Zamula refused to report to the Baby Pens and has been suspended.

With a goal and a helper, Sid’s tied for 14^th in the NHL scoring race with 47 points. He’s tied for fifth with 24 goals. The Mae West comment? An ode to the late, great Mike Lange.

As of this post, the Pens (20-12-9, 49 points) occupy fourth place in the Metro and the top wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

We’re off till Thursday’s set-to with the Devils.