The Penguins got a 4-3 overtime victory in the first game of their back-to-back home-and-home with Buffalo.
Jeff Carter scored the winner, while Jake Guentzel, Rickard Rakell and Brock McGinn also got on the board in the contest, which extended their winning streak to four games. The Penguins now have points in 13 of their last 15 games dating back to Nov. 9 (11-2-2).
Sully Says: "It's a Sign of a Good Team, When You Bend But Don't Break"
The Penguins had a slow start for the second game in a row, but while his teammates struggled to get their legs under them early, Tristan Jarry was sharp from the start. The Penguins netminder was the main reason the game was scoreless heading into that first intermission despite being outshot 12-2.
"I think just trying to keep the puck in front of me and try and make as many saves as possible, just so we can catch ourselves and try and get the momentum back, I think that's all I could really do," Jarry said. "Try my best to stop everything and hopefully, the guys were able to get their feet under them and we're able to switch momentum."
The Penguins looked fantasticon their first power play of the night, which came at the 16:40 mark of the opening frame. The first unit had the zone for 90 minutes, were moving the puck well and shooting EVERYTHING.
They would end up opening the scoring at the 15:36 mark of the second period, with Jake Guentzel getting on the board for Pittsburgh. That extended his point streak to six games (3G-6A-9PTS). But the Sabres finished the middle frame strong with two goals 1:07 apart to take a lead into the second intermission.
Fortunately, the Penguins were able to respond in the final frame, starting with a great effort from Sidney Crosby. The captain has always wanted to be a goalie, and owns a full set of gear. He was able to live his dream for one glorious moment when he played netminder at the opposing blue line to hold the zone and keep the play alive, which led to Rakell's tying goal.
"I was just trying to keep it in," Crosby said. "Trying to find some way. Sometimes it's not pretty, but you got to find a way to keep it in. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Glad it ended up in a goal."
The Penguins PK came up with two huge kills in the second half of the period, before McGinn - who had 4:32 shorthanded minutes - gave Pittsburgh the lead with 3:30 remaining. But the Sabres finally broke through to tie it up with a 6-on-4 tally with exactly 90 seconds remaining. And with 22 seconds remaining, a bit of chaos ensued.
Following a whistle, Guentzel gave Jeff Skinner a little whack, and the Sabres forward retaliated in a big way. He slashed Guentzel back before repeatedly cross-checking him. One caught Guentzel in the mouth, causing him to start bleeding. He headed to the locker room to get checked out while the officials sorted out the penalties.
They were each given two-minute minors for slashing, while Skinner was also assessed a five-minute match penalty. Fortunately, Guentzel was okay, and returned to serve his penalty while the Penguins went to work on a 4-on-3 power play. It took Carter just 1:36 to convert.
"You don't want to see those kinds of plays in our game," Carter said. "It's tough to watch, but Jake's tough. He was back and ready to go. We'll take the power play, and lucky enough to get the extra point tonight."
Here's what head coach Mike Sullivan had to say after the game.
On if there is something to be said for getting two points on a night where they didn't have a good start, and maybe didn't have their A-game all night: "Yeah, I think so. I think it's a sign of a good team, when you can bend but don't break, so to speak. I didn't think we had a great start, obviously, I thought Tristan made some key saves for us. I also thought we defended hard even though we didn't have the puck, but we just didn't have the puck enough. I thought as the game went on, we got better. I thought the third period on, we were the better team."
On what changed after the first period: "Ijust thought we were much more assertive. It just seemed like in the first period, we didn't do anything very crisp, or clean. Our handles, and our execution, just weren't there. When that happens, sometimes you chase the game a little bit. I thought we chased it a little bit in the first half. To the players' credit, I thought we settled down. We come out in the third period, that was a huge goal to tie it up early in the third. That was an unbelievable play by Sid to keep the puck in. Just a great play all around. But that's the type of game I think we need, to assert ourselves more consistently, if we're going to control the game the way we want to control it. I think that was the biggest thing that changed."
On the message to the team going into overtime:"(Assistant coach Todd Reirden) was talking to the guys about just 4-on-3 strategy. A lot of it is just reminders. These guys have been through it an awful lot from a preparation standpoint, whether it be repetitions in practice or some of the video work that they get before the games. A lot of it was just kind of reminders of what we're trying to accomplish out there. But there wasn't anything drastic."
On how they got that 4-on-3 goal, along with a 5-on-4 goal, and what was working for the power play tonight: "I just think the power play is starting to gain some traction. They're feeling it, you know? I just think they're feeling it better. When they're feeling it, they just make instinctive plays. They pass the puck, and it's crisp. It's on the tape. It's hard, and it's quick, and we put our opponents in a reactive mode as opposed to a proactive mode. It's a big difference. When you're a killer and you're proactive, you can steer pucks into certain areas and influence where the puck's going to go. You feel like you're in control. When you're in a reactive mode, you feel like you're not. I thought our power play did a real good job with that tonight."
