Behind the top duo Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils (66 points each) with equal points, things are getting tight in the Metropolitan Division. The Pittsburgh Penguins made things even worse with their 7-6 home win after overtime against the Florida Panthers. The decisive factors were the return of a veteran and the fact that the Penguins don’t let a game from behind shake them.
After the decisive hit in a varied game, all Penguins players stormed on Kris Letang to, hugged their colleague and congratulated him. The veteran (35) on the blue line just grabbed the hammer from the same in the overtime against the Panthers and let the fans of the hosts in the PPG Paints Arena cheer. Letang made his comeback in this game after a break of several weeks. First, an injury had put him out of action, then he missed several games because his father passed away.
The hero of the evening visibly struggled with the words after the game. “I didn’t know what to think. The boys always supported me. It’s great to be back. It’s good that we won,” said Letang, who also gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead at the time scored and prepared two more goals.
It was just one of those games that you don’t want to have too often. And if so, then you don’t want to be on the wrong side in the end. “We have to learn from the mistakes we made,” said the defenseman, who has won the Stanley Cup three times with the Penguins.
It was Letang’s ninth overtime winner in a career spanning nearly 1,000 games. So he is in common with Erik Karlsson, Dougie Hamilton and Mike Green at number four in that statistic. In the long history of the NHL, only Brent Burns (16), Scott Niedermayer (13) and Seth Jones (10) scored more goals in overtime as a defender. In terms of scoring points in extra time, Letang has even taken the lead with his goal – together with Karlsson. Both have 31 points in overtime (9-22-31 each), making them the best defensemen in this category in NHL history. Letang is also the 25th fullback in NHL history with at least 30 career winning goals. Only Burns (41), Karlsson (33), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (32) and Justin Faulk (30) keep up.
Accordingly, it was also an emotional evening for the players and those responsible for the Penguins. “I couldn’t be happier for him. What he’s been through lately…” said Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. As a team you go through this time together. “Everyone was absolutely thrilled to have him back in the squad.” Keeper agreed Casey DeSmith at short notice for the injured Tristan Jarry (Upper body) had to step in: “It’s good to have him back. He was a key factor in the win.”
HE IS SCORE! ????
The Penguins take the 6-5 lead thanks to a power-play goal from Evgeni Malkin with 5:30 left in the game. pic.twitter.com/4HZbYFwznj
– Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 25, 2023
The coach could not be happy about that. Naturally, Sullivan was pleased that the team had support from the third and fourth rows and from the blue line (Letang) in terms of goal production. Danton Heinen with his fourth and Drew O’Connor with his third goal of the season, the hosts took part in the lively target shooting. “Of course that helps enormously,” said the trainer. Also scored for the hosts Rickard Rakell, Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin.
Sullivan also understood that it was a spectacular game for the neutral observers and the fans in the stands. After all, the bottom line was 13 goals, you don’t get that every night in the NHL either. But Sullivan wouldn’t be a good coach if it wasn’t for his side conceding too many goals. Compared to the 2-1 loss after overtime in the previous game at the New Jersey Devils, the coach saw a step backwards in his team’s defense. He demanded better puck handling from his players. You shouldn’t make it so easy for your opponent to score goals. On the other hand, he liked that his team didn’t let themselves be defeated. “It was a game where the momentum and emotions went back and forth a lot.”
Sullivan may also have liked that his team came back after falling behind several times. The Penguins were behind in this game 0:2, 3:4 and 4:5. But they always fought back. Making Pittsburgh the twelfth team this season to come from three separate deficits in a game. Half of such games were played in January by the Toronto Maple Leafs (17th), Montreal Canadiens (7th), Anaheim Ducks (6th), Nashville Predators (5th) and New York Rangers (3rd).
“Hopefully we can build on that,” said Sullivan. His team has 56 points after this win, advancing to third place in the Metropolitan Division with the exception of three points behind the New York Rangers. The Penguins currently hold the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference – tied on points with the Washington Capitals. But their pursuers are breathing down their necks. The difference between the Buffalo Sabers (53) and the Philadelphia Flyers (48) is just five points. There’s still a lot that’s possible. And that’s why this win against the Panthers with all its emotions can be doubly valuable for Pittsburgh if the team knows how to draw the right conclusions and build on them.
“There are still some areas where we need to improve, but if we get better through a game like this, it’s been a useful experience,” Sullivan said.