Penguins prevail in overtime
game to feel good about yourself.”
Coach Mike Sullivan took things a step further.
Letang was one of the first players Sullivan met with in Pittsburgh — they happened to bump into each other at a Downtown restaurant — and the two are extremely close. Sullivan loves Letang’s game and has been thrilled to see him getting back to it.
“I’m happy for him because I know how hard he works,” Sullivan said. “I think it will be a big boost of confidence for him moving forward.” • What else to like? How about Evgeni Malkin’s line. He, Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel drove play for extended stretches. Their extended shift made Jamie Oleksiak’s gameopening goal possible by wearing down the Capitals defense.
The same goes for how the Penguins’ third line continues to evolve.
Dominik Simon, Derick Brassard and Bryan Rust have been spectacular together, and they teamed up for the Penguins’ fifth goal.
After Simon’s point shot, Brassard went to the net, gathered the rebound and stuffed a backhander past Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby.
“They’re a real solid line,” Sullivan said.
Brassard himself has looked like a different player than the one the Penguins acquired in February. His skating has improved. His confidence has skyrocketed.
Can we finally bury six feet deep those questions about his injury last season?
“He had a rough start to training camp when he wasn’t feeling well,” Sullivan said. “Once he got over that, I thought he’s taken off.”
• There was plenty of cause for concern Thursday, too.
In the second period, after Capitals defenseman John Carlson scored on an oddman rush — yes, those again — the Penguins responded in pretty much the worst way possible: They practically handed Evgeny Kuznetsov a ticket to navigate his way through the slot, leading to a scoring chance.
Later, Malkin’s own-zone turnover/ill-advised pass spurred a T.J. Oshie goal and the Capitals’ comeback from two down to force overtime.
The Penguins had nine giveaways in the first period alone.
At one point, Letang whipped a pass from behind the goal line to center ice. It, of course, was intercepted.
“It’s normal early to make those mistakes or have a little bit of lack of detail early, but it’s something you have to clean up quick,” Crosby said. “It’s better to clean it up when you’ve won.”
It’s also better when you have a top line as good as the Penguins can trot out there, and that’s another takeaway. Crosby didn’t score but finished with two assists and five shots on goal. His work keeping the play alive on Guentzel’s second goal, a redirection at 15:09 of the second period, was exemplary.
Fans will look at Matt Murray’s stat line — six goals on 36 shots — and groan, and some of that is fair. He should have stopped Brooks Orpik’s point shot in the second and seemed to fight the puck for parts of the night.
“Stop the next one,” Murray said of his mindset after the rough start. “What else can you do, really?
“Not a hot start by any means. But we won the game, and that’s what matters.”