The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted yet another Thanksgiving Eve showdown as per team tradition on Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena. This year, they defeated the Vancouver Canucks, 5-4.
The Penguins built a 4-1 lead in the first period, which turned into 5-1 early in the second. While the Canucks made it 5-2 late in the second, added another 40 seconds into the third, and got an extra attacker goal with 1:46 remaining, the Penguins held on to win in regulation.
It was a big morale-booster after a tough 6-1 loss to Utah on Saturday, which had been their sixth setback in seven games. The Penguins regrouped with two good practices on Monday and Tuesday, working on being more proactive instead of reactive on both sides of the puck, and had a much different, better feeling tonight as a result.
“I said to the guys after the game that we should feel good about it, because I thought we really worked hard. I thought we played on our toes,” Head Coach Mike Sullivan said. “When you're going through a skid like we've gone through, as you guys can imagine, it's human nature (that) we're scarred, and it’s because they care. So, you've got to fight through that element of human nature, and you got to manufacture confidence.”
Bryan Rust (2G-1A) and Erik Karlsson (3A) each had three points and were named the game’s First and Third Star, respectively. Goaltender Tristan Jarry stopped 25 out of 29 shots for his second win of the season, and first since returning from his conditioning stint in Wilkes-Barre after a tough start to the year.
“I think it’s better. But I still think there’s improvement to be made,” Jarry said of his play. “It’s still a work in progress and I think I can get better every day. That’s something you have to manage every game and you have to be able to see where you can improve. Today is another day that I can look at the game and find areas to improve on.”
The Canucks were coming off an impressive 2-0 win against the Boston Bruins the night before while also having a near-perfect 8-1-0 record on the road this season coming into tonight’s game.
Blake Lizotte, who was activated off of injured reserve prior to tonight’s puck drop, got the Penguins on the board in the first couple minutes of play. That is the forward’s third goal in just his eighth game of the season after being sidelined with two concussions that came off fluky plays.
“It’s a bit of a roller coaster, especially with head injuries,” he said. “Some days you feel good, some days you don’t. I’m just happy to feel good away from the rink, first and foremost. Feeling on the ice is kind of an afterthought. But so far, I’ve felt pretty good coming back both times. When your legs don’t feel great coming back, it gives you some adrenaline right away to score. That’s a dream way to start. And obviously helping the team to win is most important.”
Just under five minutes later, Vancouver tied the game when Aatu Raty ripped a shot past Jarry’s glove after his initial attempt was blocked by Marcus Pettersson. After getting outshot 8-1 through the first 13 minutes of play, the Penguins began upping the tempo as they scored three goals in the next five minutes.
It all started with a strong from Rust’s line with Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell. Rust found Rakell alone at the back door. He chipped the puck up and over the right shoulder of Artur Silovs to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead.
“That's what you want from your first line on any team, I think,” Karlsson said. “They had a strong performance today... hopefully, they can build on this, just like the rest of us can.”
Just a few minutes later, Evgeni Malkin fed Kevin Hayes for a power-play goal that gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead. It didn’t stop there as the Penguins kept attacking. Karlsson connected with Crosby on a beautiful stretch pass to send him and Rust on a partial 2-on-1. Crosby threaded the puck over to Rust, who had a wide-open net. The forward got his second of the game early in the second to extend the lead to 5-1.
“We were on our toes,” Rust said. “I think we were in their face, and when we did make little mistakes, or they did get it by us, I think we had guys working back hard and trying to cover for each other.”
Canucks forward Pius Suter made it 5-2 later in the period after his slap shot from the left circle beat Jarry. The Canucks continued to build on their momentum after the second intermission. Quinn Hughes, the reigning Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s best defenseman, cut Pittsburgh’s lead to two at the start of the third period.
After two unsuccessful Penguins power plays, Elias Pettersson made it a 5-4 game with 1:46 left in regulation with the extra attacker. But the Penguins were able to hold off Vancouver’s surge and hang onto the win.
“I think we just went over the boards after that, and just kept playing hard and try to find a way to win that game,” Rust said.
