DENVER — Jared McCann’s goal with 1:41 left in overtime elevated the Penguins to a 4-3 win on the road at Colorado on Friday night at the Pepsi Center.
McCann’s game-winner keeps the Penguins (27-12-5) perfect on their current three-game road swing. Having previously defeated Las Vegas on Tuesday, the Pens look ahead to a 6 p.m. showdown with Phil Kessel and the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday.
There was no lack of drama in the final five minutes of regulation, as with the score tied 2-2, Evgeni Malkin put the Penguins up with 4:17 to play on a heatseeker of a wrist shot that went above the left shoulder of Avs’ goaltender Pavel Francouz.
Celebration around Malkin’s go-ahead goal was short-lived, as the Avalanche, having pulled Francouz, tied the game with 30.4 seconds to play.
Malkin, whose slashing penalty in the first period led to a Nathan MacKinnon power-play goal to open up the scoring in the game, doubtless atoned for his earlier sin. He managed to score an apparent goal shortly after his penalty by rebounding a Bryan Rust shot in front of the Avs’ net, but Rust was called for goalie interference and it was waved off.
Dominik Kahun had himself a night, notching assists on three of the Penguins’ final four scores, lending further credence to coach Mike Sullivan’s recent decision to place him on the Pens’ first line opposite Malkin and Rust.
“The reason we put him there is because we think he can make plays,” Sullivan said. “That’s what he does. He’s got good offensive instincts, he can score himself, and he sees the ice real well.”
After the Avalanche took a 1-0 lead into the second period, Teddy Blueger got the Pens on the board and tied the game at one, finding the back of the net after a John Marino pass deflected off of Kahun’s stick and into Blueger’s wheelhouse.
The Penguins, for the most part, played a pretty sound second period, but 18:20 into it, Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog skated through the neutral zone and attempted to dump the puck in from outside the blue line. It wound up taking an unfavorable bounce, one-hopping past Matt Murray and putting Colorado up, 2-1.
“It (was) a tough read,” Murray said. “I can’t really expect that kind of bounce. I just tried to go out and play, settle it down so our (defense) can make plays. (After it happened), I just brushed it off.”
While it certainly was a deflating play and goal, the Penguins rallied behind Murray.
“I thought the chatter on the bench after it happened was great, and Patric Hornqvist in particular really took some leadership when it happened,” Sullivan said. “I was walking off the bench, but some of our other coaches shared with me that (the players) waited for Matt and made sure they gave him a tap on the pads to encourage him. That’s an indication of the type of team we’re becoming.”
The Penguins got it going quickly in the final period of regulation, as Rust scored 74 seconds into things, which was then followed by Malkin’s tally.
With the game comfortably into OT, McCann, assisted by Kahun and Marino, emerged as the night’s hero.
“Obviously, the team’s been playing hard as of late. We’ve earned these last couple games, so (it feels) good,” McCann said.
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