Kris Letang scores twice as Penguins earn much-needed win over Canadiens
Kyle Dubas has given the flawed Pittsburgh Penguins the next two weeks to figure out what they are.
A playoff team or … otherwise.
On Thursday, they took a step, albeit an incremental one, toward being the former and not the latter with a 4-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens at PPG Paints Arena.
The result was only their second win over their past seven games (2-4-1).
With the NHL’s trade deadline approaching March 8, the team’s president of hockey operations remains in a holding pattern with regard to any potential transactions that could seismically alter the club’s course.
“Is the group capable of it (making the playoffs)?” Dubas said Wednesday in Cranberry. “Yes. We’re sure that we are. But we’re running out of time to show that we can do it.”
The Penguins put on an ugly show that led to the Canadiens’ only goal 9 minutes, 5 seconds into regulation.
Canadiens forward Colin White, who was claimed off waivers from the Penguins earlier in the afternoon and inserted into the visiting lineup, gained the offensive zone on the right wing and surged to the high slot, only to leave a drop pass for Penguins defenseman Kris Letang.
Accepting the charity, Letang shielded the puck from Canadiens forward Jesse Ylonen in the right circle and forced a blind pass attempt to the high slot intended for Sidney Crosby. The trajectory was well off target, allowing former Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson to claim possession and snap a wrister by goaltender Tristan Jarry’s blocker for his eighth goal of the season. Former Penguins forward Tanner Pearson supplied a stout screen on the sequence. There were no assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) February 23, 2024
“It’s one of those plays, you read something and you’re the only one reading it,” Letang quipped in reference to his error. “When you make a play in the middle like this, you have to be 100% sure. I was glad that I got that goal back.”
Letang got that goal — his fifth of the season — at 11:24 of the first period.
After Matheson was hounded into a turnover in his own right corner, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin fed a pass to the right point for Letang. Surveying his options, Letang lobbed a wrister to the far side that appeared to be sailing wide of the cage, but goaltender Cayden Primeau reached out and deflected the puck with the inside of his blocker, causing it to carom into the net. Penguins forward Drew O’Connor offered a combative screen as Letang fired the puck. Malkin and O’Connor had assists.
A TALLY ON HIS BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT! ????
Kris Letang evens the score at 1-1. pic.twitter.com/Iv0PAFItjt
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 23, 2024
The Penguins took their first lead of the contest via a rare power-play goal at 11:30 of the second period.
Following a faceoff win by Crosby in Montreal’s left circle against forward Nick Suzuki, Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson claimed the puck at the left point, maneuvered to the center point and chucked a wrister toward the cage. Stationed above the blue paint, forward Bryan Rust deflected the puck down with his stick and into Primeau’s gear. The puck trickled through Primeau’s legs and into the cage, resulting in Rust’s 16th goal. Karlsson and Crosby claimed assists.
File this under: Things you love to see ???? pic.twitter.com/OukC0qa6L1
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 23, 2024
O’Connor’s eighth goal came only 21 seconds later.
After O’Connor won a board battle against Canadiens forward Cole Caufield near the visiting penalty box to keep the puck free, Malkin claimed possession and fed a short-area pass to Karlsson, who lugged it into the Canadiens’ zone at the center point. Upon entry, Karlsson offloaded it to rookie forward Valtteri Puustinen, who dished a quick pass to O’Connor rushing in from the left wing. Using Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle as a screen, O’Connor gripped and ripped a wrister by Primeau’s blocker on the near side. Assists went to Puustinen and Karlsson.
THAT'S GOALS IN CONSECUTIVE GAMES FOR DREW O'CONNOR!
(And a 3-1 lead for the Penguins) pic.twitter.com/vuGKAMGWp3
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 23, 2024
O’Connor has been potent as of late, tallying five points (two goals, three assists) in his past five games.
“I don’t know if the points necessarily always tell the full story of how you’re playing,” O’Connor said. “But it’s nice to contribute offensively. We needed more guys to step up and start contributing offensively. We didn’t have that for a little stretch there, so whenever that is going, it’s good.”
The Penguins’ penalty kill was good in this contest, going 3 for 3, including two successful conversions in the third period.
Forward Noel Acciari, who was activated from injured reserve after missing the six previous games due to a concussion, was a prominent component of that special teams unit as he logged a team-leading 3:42 of short-handed ice time.
“(Acciari) had a real good game,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. “He brings a certain energy to our team with the way he plays. I just think he’s an inspiring guy with how gritty he plays the game and the type of game that he plays.”
Letang capped the scoring with an unassisted empty net goal at 18:35 of the third period.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) February 23, 2024
Boosting his record to 15-17-4, Jarry made 30 saves on 31 shots.
“He’s been great,” Rust said of Jarry. “You’ve got to give him a lot of credit. He made some huge saves, not just in the first period. All game long. Got to give a lot of props to him. He’s been great all year long. Just been dialed in.”
The Penguins are hoping they give Dubas enough reason to make an optimistic call on their postseason prospects before March 8.
“The ball’s in our court,” Rust said. “We’ve got to prove that we’re worth taking a chance on.”
Notes:
• The Penguins swept a regular season series against the Canadiens for the third time:
2023-24: 3-0-0
2017-18: 3-0-0
2012-13: 3-0-0
• Prior to the game, the Penguins assigned reserve goaltender Magnus Hellberg to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
• Penguins rookie defenseman John Ludvig and forward Jesse Puljujarvi were healthy scratches.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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