I have a confession to make. When Kris Letang turned the puck over (again) in the final minute of the second period, which led to a goal by Zach Werenski four seconds before the horn to give the CBJ a 3-1 lead, I snapped off the TV in disgust.
Didn’t bother to turn it back on again to watch the third period. Nor did I bother to check the final score until just before bed time. You can imagine my surprise when I did.
Penguins win! In overtime to boot! On a goal by Letang, of all prople.
While I was away, in a manner of speaking, Bryan Rust took a short feed from Erik Karlsson and lashed the puck past CBJ goalie Jet Greaves just 13 seconds into the third period to pare the Jackets’ lead to one. Perhaps just as important, if not more, giving the black-and-gold a desperately needed shot of adrenalin and forward momentum.
Next on the list of ‘Guins heroes, Sidney Crosby. Sir Sidney, who’d staked us to an all-too-brief lead earlier in the contest, made an absolutely brilliant play at 8:28 to tie it at 3-all. Sid astutely allowed a head-man pass from Tommy Novak to carom off the sideboards before engaging the rubber in a race to the CBJ net. Arriving on Greaves’ doorstep at roughly the same time as the puck, Crosby then corralled the biscuit with one hand on his stick and in one smooth motion beat the stunned netminder blocker side.
I mean, what a goal!
Only Sid.
From there the Pens pushed the game to overtime. Let’s face it, with an 0-5 record in games extending beyond regulation, extra stanzas haven’t exactly been our domain thus far. However, 59 seconds before a dreaded shootout, Evgeni Malkin barreled into the Jackets’ zone and pinned the puck to the side boards, drawing the attention of two defenders. Rookie Luca Pinelli pried the puck loose, but Letang promptly pounced on the loose change and fed Novak, who in turn slipped it back to No. 58 on a quick give-and-go. Tanger snapped it past Greaves for the game-winner.
Puckpourri
I’m not gonna’ lie, Letang’s disturbing penchant for turning pucks over in the final minute of periods had drawn my attention prior to last night. It’s as if Tanger’s hard-wired to give the puck away in crucial situations. If a schlub like me notices, Dan Muse and his staff certainly must also. Dare I suggest they deploy Karlsson and Parker Wotherspoon, by far our best defense tandem, at such critical junctures?
For the first 40 minutes, it wasn’t a pretty game to watch from a Pens’ perspective. We managed just 15 shots on goal, and there was little in the way of sustained offensive pressure. Not to call guys out, but there are way too many (ahem, Ville Koivunen and Joona Koppanen) who simply aren’t producing.
To that end, in a rather baffling move, Muse made rookie Tristan Broz a healthy scratch just two nights after his big-league debut, while reinserting fellow rookie Ben Kindel. While I get that they’re both natural centers, each has played wing as well. Is it wrong to suggest they could and should both be in the lineup? Perhaps on the same line?
Anywho, to say we desperately need to get Rickard Rakell and Justin Brazeau back is the Cap’n Obvious understatement of the century. Until then, I’m afraid it’s a steady diet of hard-scrabble (and at times, hard to watch) hockey.
Muse did break out of his strict rotation to give Tristan Jarry a richly deserved second-straight start in net. Tristan stopped 26 of 29 shots and was stiff when he had to be.
Speaking of, Jarry’s name is popping up in trade rumors, mostly with the Oilers. One iteration, posted on X by Oilerslive, suggested that Jarry and Wotherspoon would be headed north of the border, with the Pens receiving sieve-like Stuart Skinner, veteran depth forward Mattias Janmark and draft picks in return.
If true, I want no part of that deal. Hopefully, Kyle Dubas doesn’t, either.
The victory pushed the Pens (12-6-5) into the first Eastern Conference wild card slot. With only six points separating the first-place Devils from the cellar-dwelling CBJ, the Metro is packed tighter than a tin of sardines.
Tonight’s foe, the floundering Maple Leafs, are fresh off a 4-2 drubbing at the hands of the Capitals in DC. Presenting a prime opportunity to avenge our ugly, come-from-in-front loss to Toronto on November 3.
Jet Greaves is one of my very favorite hockey names. Former Flames and Blackhawks defenseman Miles Zaharko is another.
A final thought. While I may be guilty of setting the expectation bar too high, Koivunen has been my biggest disappointment thus far. Is it too early to suggest that those early reports claiming that he lacked the speed to keep pace in the NHL be true?
I sure hope not.
Oh, and nice to see Novak pick up those two assists.