Penguins/NHL
An improbable run has the Pittsburgh Penguins leading the second wild card spot by one point and controlling their destiny with three games to go.
Will they pull this off or was squandering a chance to bury the Detroit Red Wings in regulation with a two-goal lead going to come back to haunt them?
The synopsis of Pittsburgh’s 6-5 overtime win vs the Red Wings is despite all the flaws with this hockey club, the Penguins once again found a way to get two points and get back to controlling their destiny as things went the Penguins way on the scoreboard with the Capitals losing in Buffalo 4-2.
Pittsburgh’s magic # entering Friday is five points to clinch a playoff berth.
Islanders 89 Points, 3 GR, 3rd in Metro
Penguins 86 Pts, 3 GR, 2nd WC Spot
Capitals 85 Pts, 3 GR | 
Red Wings 85 Pts, 3 GR | 
Flyers 85 Pts, 2 GR
“We’ve got some learning opportunities from this game where I think we let them back in the game,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “But I give our players a lot of credit for just digging in and competing. That’s what I love about this group right now. Their care factor is high to get into the playoffs.”
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Pittsburgh scored on four of their first 12 shots…….. they never trailed and had multi-goal leads of 4-2 and 5-3, yet, a constant common theme all season for Pittsburgh, they make highly winnable games more difficult than they should be with below average fundamentals.
1st Period: Drew O’Connor opening goal 2:40 into the game, Detroit responds 59 seconds later. Penguins go up again on a Kris Letang goal off the rush, 4:35 later a Letang turnover leads to the Wings scoring with 13 seconds left in the first period.
2nd Period: Pittsburgh being largely outplayed storms out to a 4-2 lead on 2nd period goals from Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust. The inability to close out a period rears its ugly head as Jeff Petry scores with 46 seconds remaining in period to draw the Red Wings back within one.
3rd Period: Players on this roster who have made it a career of rising to the occasion continue to rise down the stretch. None other than Jeff Carter whose shorthanded goal 3:02 into the third should have been the dagger that was good night for the Red Wings but it wasn’t. Erik Karlsson decided to lose his mind defensively, leaving the front of the net on a Dylan Larkin goal at 12:56 of the third and then on the very next shift, Karlsson makes a horrendous pinch that leads to a Lucas Raymond hat trick and we have a tied hockey game.
For every Red Wings push, though, the Penguins deserve all the credit for responding and Erik Karlsson blasting the overtime winner was quite the moment after the disaster end of the third period he had. And you had to feel good for him because before the third period debacle he has finally been a dominant force in a Penguins uniform.
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Players Buzz / Storylines
Three games to go, just enjoy this magical run the Penguins are on after being nine points out with just 22 days left in the regular season. If they pull this off despite all their flaws it is going to be something. Despite some of the positive signs of systematic improvement with their play over the bulk of these last four to five games, Thursday night was another wakeup call of how poor of a fundamental hockey club the Penguins are in critical areas of the game, which is going to make it all the more impressive if they close the golden opportunity they’ve been gifted.
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Sidney Crosby/Bryan Rust have been quite the 1-2 punch down the stretch on the top-line. Again, Rust is going to end up near the top of the list of greatest Penguins wingers when he’s all said and done. They are becoming Crosby/Kunitz like with how the two feed off other with the puck and away from the puck. They can beat you a number of ways.
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— Alex Nedeljkovic is starting to look gassed and since the Tampa game has not been tracking and seeing the puck well at times. On a 7-0-3 run and 11 straight appearances in a 20 day span as of last night, this is uncharted waters for Nedeljkovic. This run has been all about various players stepping up in certain situation. Going with Tristan Jarry vs Boston is very tempting and seeing if he becomes a positive storyline on securing a playoff spot. Nedeljkovic has allowed 10 goals on 52 shots in two games vs Boston. Everything screams go with Jarry on a very short leash. Despite not seeing any action since March 22nd and poor #’s in the month of March, this is still your $5 million+ a year goaltender who leads the NHL in shutouts. Will they do it? Indications are unlikely.
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— The presence of Rickard Rakell driving play in the last couple weeks has been a game changer for the top six. Rakell last night looked so reminiscent of the Rakell of last season where he’s holding onto the puck and waiting for lanes and offensive opportunities to develop. He’s pushing defenders back with the threat of making a skilled play and it hasn’t just been Michael Bunting that’s jump started Evgeni Malkin’s game. Where has this guy been in 23/24?
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— This run has been fun to see unsung players step up on a game-by-game basis. Jack St. Ivany has been one and add Ryan Shea to that list. He’s given the Penguins some positive minutes this week and he reads the play well when to pick spots defensively.
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— Pittsburgh again continues to play with pretty much nine forwards in the third period of games. Emil Bemstrom one shift in third, Radim Zohorna gets a penalty in the third and only see’s two shifts. Valtteri Puustinen again saw little time in the third. We’ll likely see another forward change Saturday night. [/hide] [/hide]
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