Tim Benz: Circumstances of how Penguins snapped losing streak could prove meaningful
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No one on the Pittsburgh Penguins bench — or in the entire fan base — could’ve been faulted for being nervous all the way through Wednesday night’s game in Washington.
A seven-game losing streak was hanging over their heads. The second-string goalie was playing. They were down two — and even briefly, three — defensemen.
Worst of all, the Pens were winning 3-0 in the third period. With the way late leads have been evaporating for the Penguins of late, the Capitals must’ve been thinking, “We got ‘em right where we want ‘em.”
Which is why, with under two minutes left, an empty net goal from Jake Guentzel triggered a sigh of relief and a celebration that felt more like a playoff win than a midweek victory in early November.
Best tradition in hockey- @penguins fans chanting at Caps fans from the Portrait Gallery pic.twitter.com/9fKZeG57iQ
— Sean O'Brien (@SeanOBrien81) November 10, 2022
The Pens’ 4-1 win over the Caps ended their slide at seven games and gave the team its first victory since Oct. 22. It also ceased a trend of the Penguins blowing leads, especially in the third period.
“I thought our stick-to-itiveness was more consistent,” coach Mike Sullivan said after the win. “I thought we defended hard. We got a lot of sticks on pucks. There was a level of urgency in our game. For the most part, we managed the puck pretty well. And I thought our penalty kill was much improved.”
That last part can’t be overstated. The Pens’ 24th-ranked PK blanked a Capitals power play that had just scored four goals in its previous outing against the Edmonton Oilers. Wednesday, though, it was 0-4 in 6 minutes, 21 seconds of ice time.
“The guys on the penalty kill did a terrific job. I thought Filip Hallander had a terrific game. Especially in that regard, on the penalty kill,” Sullivan said.
That was the NHL season debut for Hallander. He was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League two days ago. The forward logged 11:01 of ice time, 3:13 of which was short-handed. He blocked three shots along the way.
“Monkey off the back,” goaltender Casey DeSmith said. “The team win means everything. Safe to say we needed it. We earned it. The PK was unbelievable.”
DeSmith was solid, stopping 24 of 25 shots for a win in what was somewhat of a surprising start. It had been four days since the Penguins last played, but Sullivan elected to go with DeSmith in the net instead of Tristan Jarry. And it’s not as if DeSmith’s last start was stellar, yielding four goals to Buffalo as the Penguins let a 3-1 third-period lead disappear.
Yet Sullivan started DeSmith anyway, without much explanation after the game.
“We made a decision to go with Casey tonight. I thought he played extremely well. I thought he made some timely saves for us. We feel like we have two goalies that are capable of helping us win games,” Sullivan said.
Another layer to the victory was the blue line play in front of DeSmith. The rotation of Pittsburgh defensemen was down to three players at one point in the third period. Jan Rutta and Pierre-Olivier Joseph both left the game due to injuries in the second period. Jeff Petry missed some time in the third as well. So Kris Letang had to soak up 28:28 of ice time, and Jeff Carter had to take a shift on defense.
“I was a little bit out of my element there,” Carter said. “But Sully says you’ve got to play your position.”
In a way, though, those odd circumstances may have coalesced to make the streak-ending win more pivotal than what it even appears to be on the surface. Protecting a late lead. On the road. Against a hated rival. With a forward playing defense in front of the backup goalie. Leaning on a shaky PK.
Maybe that adds a little emotional component to the victory.
“I thought we started to get a little swagger back on the bench,” Sullivan said. “Sometimes when you go through those things like we did in the third period when you are down to four defensemen, it’s a little bit of a rallying cry for the guys. And you could feel that on the bench in the third period.”
When a team is going through rough times, coaches, fans and media often ascribe too much meaning to certain instances — attempting to preemptively identify a “turning point” moment in a struggling season.
But in this case, if the Penguins can stay on track after those circumstances in Washington, Sullivan may be onto something.