Tim Benz: Penguins’ work deep in offensive end biggest reason for comeback victory
Share this post:
For the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night, it was their work beneath the goal line that eventually resulted in pucks crossing it.
The Pens came back from a 3-2 third-period deficit to grab a 4-3 decision from the Las Vegas Golden Knights at PPG Paints Arena. Their work beyond the end line in the offensive zone may have been the biggest reason why.
One of the Penguins’ goals was courtesy of a Jake Guentzel shot from the right circle on a 4-on-3 power play. But the other three were at even strength and the result of winning puck battles that started behind the net.
“We were pressuring pucks. We were up in fives. When we are at our best, our puck pursuit game is relentless,” coach Mike Sullivan said.
Trailing 2-0 early in the second period, Brock McGinn charged down the left wing with the puck and carried it into the offensive end. He wound up in the trapezoid behind Las Vegas goalie Logan Thomson, fighting for possession with Golden Knights defenseman Ben Hutton. Vegas forward William Karlsson was lurking away from the battle, waiting for the puck to poke free.
That’s when Pens center Jeff Carter shot through that space to lend some puck support to McGinn. Hutton got his legs tangled up with (or was tripped by, depending on your point of view) Carter. That allowed McGinn to control the puck, spin around in the right circle and score.
MAX TALBOT NEEDS TO STAY IN THE BOOTH! ???? pic.twitter.com/BjQFz7KpAS
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 2, 2022
“With our collective effort, and collective pursuit game — when we play that way, we are really hard to play against,” Sullivan said. “We don’t give teams any separation. We are playing on top of teams. When you play on top of them like that, there isn’t a whole lot of risk associated with it because you are playing on the right side of people and you are playing on the right side of the puck. But it sure is hard to play against.”
The Penguins second goal was simply dogged determination from Sidney Crosby.
Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague momentarily got a loose puck behind his own net and tried to move it on the backhand into the corner. But Crosby wouldn’t let it happen. He hounded Hague the whole way into the corner and back toward the net as Hague tried to shake free. Crosby took four whacks at Hague’s stick before wrangling the puck loose.
He immediately passed the puck to an open Guentzel in the left circle, who deftly slid a pass to a wide-open Rickard Rakell right on top of the crease for a tap in goal to tie the game.
With this goal, Rakell hit the 10-goal plateau for the seventh time in his career! ???? pic.twitter.com/oaCVhCJ3F9
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 2, 2022
“We held onto pucks. That’s what you have to do,” Crosby said. “We found a way to get on the forecheck and create turnovers. And with that we got zone time. It’s a lot of fun playing that way.”
In the third period, tied 3-3, Kasperi Kapanen scored the game winner off of more good work from McGinn below the goal line.
Pens defenseman Brian Dumoulin fired a shot wide of Thompson’s right post. As the puck was rebounding off the end boards, McGinn slid behind an unsuspecting Brayden McNabb to gather the rebound. He shielded himself from an oncoming Zach Whitecloud and fired a perfect pass to Kapanen who buried the game winner.
“When we are on their (defensemen) and creating turnovers, that’s when we are playing our best hockey and moving our feet. For us, that’s what we’ve got to keep doing,” Guentzel said.
More sports
• Penguins rally to beat Golden Knights as Kasperi Kapanen nets winner
• Days after stroke, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang skates briefly
• Penguins teammates express relief as defenseman Kris Letang recovers from stroke
With defenseman Kris Letang sidelined indefinitely, the Penguins are going to find it harder to score off the rush with end-to-end offense. A lot more of their goals are going to have to come the way that they did Thursday night, with hard work, grit and grind to maintain — or regain — possession deep in the zone once they do successfully get into the offensive end.
For their own sake, they better study and buy into what they showed themselves can work on Thursday night.