Sheary caps Penguins rally to snap slump
right circle at 6:28, then used one arm to chip a puck past Holtby at 14:37 before driving him from the game by scoring from the right side of the crease on power play at 17:19.
His final goal gave the Penguins the first of their two, two-goal leads, neither of which they managed to hold.
Which is why their two points weren’t secure until 34 seconds into overtime, when Conor Sheary nudged a puck past Holtby’s replacement, Philipp Grubauer.
And why Sullivan probably chugged a six-pack of antacid in his office immediately after the game.
Of course, it might have been a case if Washington had gotten the final goal.
“It wasn’t a perfect game, by any stretch,” Sullivan said.
True enough, but even though the Penguins’ stats crew no doubt wishes it were entering a bye week, there were some positives for them.
And not only that they defeated what had been the hottest team in the league.
Clawing back from a three-goal deficit — against any opponent, in any setting — is a major feat. Doing it against such an elite opponent makes it that much more impressive.
“We have a resilient group,” Sullivan said. “And they know they’re capable of coming back when they get down by multiple goals.”
Impressive as those earlier rallies had been, this one likely was the most important of the season, because the Penguins had lost their previous three games. That was the team’s worst skid since they lost Sullivan’s first four behind the bench in December 2015.
“It’s important for us to get that win,” Sheary said. “We were sliding there a bit with three losses, something we weren’t used to.”
Mind you, winning at home is something to which they are completely accustomed; they are a league-best 19-2-2 at PPG Paints Arena this winter.
That record seemed likely to pick up a few dents when Andre Burakovsky, Nicklas Backstrom and Justin Williams beat Penguins goalie Matt Murray in the first 21 minutes, 17 seconds of the game, but the Penguins began to rally when Malkin scored his first a few minutes later.
“We weren’t perfect today,” he said. “But it’s two points.”
Perhaps the two most memorable they will claim all season.