Salvaging a point
Penguins move to first place despite SO loss, thanks to two goals from Guentzel
The Penguins have used four main ingredients to keep stacking up wins the past few weeks. A terrific top line. Comebacks. Power-play goals. And timely saves.
They pulled out the same recipe Friday but couldn’t quite cook up a victory.
For the third time in four games, they rallied back from a third-period deficit. But the Detroit Red Wings beat them, 32, in a shootout at PPG Paints to squander two more goals from Jake Guentzel and a strong start from Casey DeSmith.
“Just to get a point is big for us,” Guentzel said. “You can’t win every night.”
That point put the Penguins in first place for the first time since October.
Down one goal early in the third period, Guentzel got his second of the night on a very Guentzel goal. He got in on the forecheck, jarred the puck free then headed to the slot for a onetimer. That was his 23rd goal in the team’s 44 games.
Then DeSmith made a few more key stops to get the Penguins into overtime.
But they couldn’t convert any of their three shootout attempts on Red Wings goalie Calvin Pickard. Lucas Raymond tucked in the winner for Detroit.
It was the first time since Nov. 29 and Dec. 1 the Penguins lost two in a row.
The consecutive losses came against inferior competition in the expansion Seattle Kraken and nose-diving Wings. But the Penguins, playing in their sixth game in nine days following a long trip out West, at least earned 2 of 4 points.
“We played a better game tonight,” Mike Sullivan said. “We knew this was going to be a tough game, playing back to back. We’ve played a lot of hockey here and just trying to fight through the fatigue aspect. … Our guys battled real hard.”
In the second half of a back-toback, the Penguins went with DeSmith in goal. This calendar year, DeSmith allowed five goals in his first start and got pulled from the following two. Improbably, the Penguins still won all three games. His numbers ranked among the NHL’s worst goalies heading into Friday’s start.
Due to a condensed schedule, the Penguins have had just two
full-squad practices over the past 10 days and only one since DeSmith got that quick hook in Columbus, plus a few morning skates to try to get the 30-year-old back on track. That allowed limited time to work with first-year NHL goalie coach Andy Chiodo.
“I’ve had some bad luck. I’ve had some bad games. A little bit on myself, of course,” DeSmith said. “Just trying to work with Andy. What works best for me? What are some things I need to do in goalie practice that might be a little bit different from what [Tristan Jarry] needs? … We’ve done a really good job with that.”
Whatever those two worked on nudged DeSmith back in the right direction.
The second period was the best the embattled backup has been since Christmas. He kicked his pad to stop Larkin when the Red Wings captain cut in from the right wing. The rookie Raymond was left alone in front and came up empty. DeSmith turned aside Michael Rasmussen twice as Detroit threatened short-handed.
DeSmith stopped 26 of 28 shots of regulation to get the Penguins into overtime. Early in that extra session, he robbed Dylan Larkin with a sprawling glove save.
“It felt good to be in the game until the end and
make some good saves and hold the team in it.” Obviously, I hate losing,” DeSmith lamented. “So it hurts.”
Filip Zadina scored a pinball goal late in the second to make it 2-1, Red Wings. Again, the Penguins had to shift into comeback mode, a familiar feeling of late.
Rememberwhen the Penguins were maybe the NHL’s best first-period team?
It was another sleepy start Friday at PPG Paints Arena, with the Penguins sitting back and seeming to feel out their opponent. For a fourth consecutive game they did not score in the
first period. The Red Wings grabbed the lead late in the period, pouncing on a Mike Matheson giveaway with a goal by Gemel Smith.
The Penguins got just five pucks through to Pickard, a career journeyman makingjust his second NHL start this season and his 11th the past three years.
They didn’t have a single shot from the slot or chance off the rush, per Sportlogiq.
In their past 10 games, the Penguins have led heading into the first intermission just once. Their opponents outscored them, 11-8, in the first 20 minutes. Obviously, the Penguins found a way to win most of those games. But not Friday.
Guentzel got his first goal on the power play a few minutes into the second.
Sidney Crosby and the Penguins were tremendous on that particular power play. Their puck pursuit, passing and player movement were all top notch. And twice they just let one rip. Guentzel cleaned up a rebound after Crosby’s blast.
“He’s really good at using his body, even though it isn’t the biggest,” Matheson said. “He kind of just has that knack for knowing when to push off the defense and create a bit of separation for himself. And that’s hard to play against.”
The Penguins have a power-play goal in seven of Evgeni Malkin’s 10 games.
The Penguins will continue their six-game homestand Sunday at PPG Paints Arena when they play host to the Los Angeles Kings. That game has a 1 p.m. start time.