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Kris Letang and the Penguins Avs a late game comeback |
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There was no easing back into action for the Penguins after their bye week and All Star break. They got the defending champions. They defeated the defending champions by a score of 2-1. There was no shortage of shot attempts in this one. The Penguins out-attempted the Avalanche at 5v5 71-54. It was only the second time this year Pittsburgh has eclipsed the 70 mark. It took 36 attempts in the third period. Despite the attempt advantage Colorado held the xGF% advantage 50.79 overall. Colorado was the better team through two periods.
Casey Desmith had one of his stronger performances stopping 41 out of 42 shots. He bought the team time for their late heroics. The lone goal to beat DeSmith was a Nate MacKinnon 4v4 goal where he circled the zone like a shark until he was able to find a lane for his shot
Outside of an excellent play by an excellent player DeSmith stopped all other shots.
The Penguins pushed hard in the third period to get an equalizer and with 3:38 left Evgeni Malkin got the puck in front where Bryan Rust got the last touch on it
Mike Sullivan went back to Rust playing with Malkin with Rakell back with Crosby. This is where both wingers have found the most success this year. Last night the coach was rewarded with a big goal. It could have been considered a success to steal a point late with getting to overtime against the Avs. The Rust goal paved the way for them to get both.
It didn’t come easy. The Penguins had to kill off a penalty in overtime. Colorado’s lone goal was in a 4v4 situation. Them having a 4v3 situation to work with is not where you want to be as an opponent. On most nights the game probably ends with a power play goal. Last night it did not. The Penguins fought to kill things off and then sent the home crowd home elated. Kris Letang scored with helpers from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. An overtime goal with those three on the scoresheet is a best case scenario as a fan.
It was a great scramble where the Penguins were puck hungry and they ultimately earned Letang’s open look for the deciding goal. It is great to see Letang have these moments
Not everything was a positive. Jeff Carter tried to take out Cale Makar in a very careless sequence.
This is in the same neighborhood of “accidental” contact as the Steckel hit on Crosby. Masked as an accident, but pretty clear to be an intentional “whoops what happened” play. I don’t blame Makar for being upset. I don’t really think the league will do anything about this so Jeff Carter will remain in the lineup. Suspension feels like the only path for him to find himself out of the lineup.
The bottom six issues are obvious. Here are some tangible numbers
Next up for the Penguins is their California swing. Los Angeles is currently third in the Pacific Division while San Jose and Anaheim are not in the playoff mix. I mentioned before this stretch of games taking six out of eight points would be a solid outcome. Now I believe anything less would be a disappointment now that the Penguins banked two points against the Avs.
Thanks for reading!
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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