Another disaster averted Penguins finally manage a win against the Devils, at a perfect time, too
NEWARK, N.J. — The Penguins have had more complete efforts this season.
More explosive offensive performances and impressive victories, too.
But given the circumstances surrounding the game Tuesday — the opponent and their desperate need for points — don’t expect the Penguins to complain about the result: A 4-3 victory against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center.
The Penguins erased two one-goal deficits, had a strong second period and even got a few plus performances from players further down their depth chart.
“Yeah, [the Devils] have had our number this year,” said defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, who scored the winning goal at 17:29 of the second period. “But it felt good to come in here and get the win.”
Playing the Devils recently has been a recipe for disaster for the Penguins, who were 1-5-1 in seven meetings against them since pulling off a
five-game sweep in the season series in 2016-17.
Worse, in three losses this season, the Devils had outscored the Penguins, 156. Two were lopsided. In the other, the Penguins made enough mistakes that it probably should’ve been.
“We were due, no question,” defenseman Jack Johnson said. “We definitely knew that going in. We also knew it was going to be another tough game.”
But after waking up Tuesday morning with a one-point cushion for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference — they were out of the playoffs briefly over the weekend — the Penguins found a sense of urgency.
Especially in a second period where they took the game over with extended offensive-zone time, limiting the Devils to just 11 five-onfive shot attempts and three scoring chances.
“I thought we were really good in the second period,” coach Mike Sullivan said.
Four different players scored goals, they steadied themselves after a bit of an up-and-down start, and the Penguins (32-21-7) won their second game in a row to keep pace in the playoff race. They’ve won four of their past five overall.
In goal, Matt Murray rebounded from getting pulled after two periods in a loss to Calgary Saturday and stopped 33 of 36 shots to earn the win.
Murray had parts of the game where he was quite good, although he allowed the Devils to close to within one at 15:10 of the third period. With defenseman Brian Dumoulin draped all over him, Devils left winger Miles Wood went with a changeup from the left circle, and the puck somehow skittered under Murray’s stick.
Jake Guentzel should’ve received two assists for the play he made to put the Penguins in front, 3-2, at 10:45 of the second period, carrying the puck end to end before Rust — flashing his versatility — scored on a one-timer across his body.
Ruhwedel extended the lead to two after a terrific shift from the Penguins second line, one that saw Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Zach Aston-Reese hunting pucks and creating secondand third-chance opportunities.
Playing his fourth consecutive game after sitting out 37 as a healthy scratch, Ruhwedel blasted a shot that went post and in for his first goal since March 5, 2018.
“I thought we played really well in the second,” Aston-Reese said. “We got a lot of offensive-zone time, then we were able to roll four lines.”
In the first period, a couple terrific offensive plays for the Penguins were negated by a pair of blunders in their own zone.
Jesper Bratt made it 1-0 when the Penguins lost him at the bottom of the right circle, but Sidney Crosby’s ridiculous setup from below the goal line, to AstonReese, created a 1-1 tie.
Later, after Kessel bobbled a bouncing puck, Marcus Johansson roofed a backhanded beauty. Nick Bjugstad erased that with a wicked shot from the left circle on the power play, helping the Penguins build on their 4-for-8 effort over the weekend.
The win Tuesday night was important because it helped the Penguins jump into third place in the Metropolitan Division with 71 points, two ahead of Columbus, which has played one fewer game.
Things don’t figure to get easier, either, with the San Jose Sharks visiting Thursday then a trip to Philadelphia for the Stadium Series game Saturday night.
But here’s guessing the Penguins aren’t thinking about any of that. They wanted to avoid a series sweep to the lowly Devils and refused to get down after a couple of minor mistakes early.
“We had a real positive bench [Tuesday],” Ruhwedel said. “Guys were real upbeat. Nobody got down. We stuck to our game plan and worked our way back.
“That second period was really good by us. We were in the offensive zone a lot. Guys were moving their feet. It was fun to be a part of.”