Penguins hope convincing win against Devils serves as 'stepping stone'
NEWARK, N.J. — For all their championship success in recent years, the Pittsburgh Penguins are no strangers to adversity.
Their lengthy medical report this season is evidence of that.
So Tuesday’s meeting with the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center wasn’t exactly as overwhelming of a challenge as, say, losing your franchise center for two-plus months to a core muscle injury or your top defensive defenseman for three months because of lacerated tendons in his left ankle.
But given the Penguins’ recent struggles with eight losses in their previous 10 games, Tuesday’s 5-2 victory offered a much-needed salve for a squad struggling in just about every conceivable fashion on the ice.
“That’s one of the better games that we’ve played, one of the more complete games that we’ve played in a while,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “All four lines were going. The defensemen all competed out there. We were playing the game the right way. Our leaders set the example.”
“It was more of a team effort tonight. And as a result, we were able to have success.”
While hardly a perfect performance, Tuesday’s effort was arguably their most thorough contest from bell to bell in several weeks.
“It kind of felt like everyone was back on track,” rookie defenseman John Marino said. “We played together. There was a lot more energy on the bench. You could just feel it. Hopefully, we use this as a stepping stone and continue.”
The Penguins took the game’s first lead 8 minutes, 29 seconds into the first period when forward Evan Rodrigues, promoted to the third line in the wake of forward Nick Bjugstad’s undisclosed injury, whipped a wrister from the left half wall through a forest of bodies past goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood’s glove on the far side. It was Rodrigues’ first goal as a member of the Penguins and sixth of the season.
At 12:46 of the first period, the Devils responded with a power-play goal by forward Nikita Gusev.
A goal by defenseman Justin Schultz, his first since Nov. 12, restored a lead for the Penguins they would not relinquish.
“It was good,” said Schultz, who went 27 games between goals. “Anytime you can score, it gives you a little bit of confidence.
After an undisciplined slashing penalty by defenseman Kris Letang at 3:54 of the third period provided the Devils a five-on-three power-play opportunity that lasted an ample 1:42, Penguins penalty killers Teddy Blueger, Brian Dumoulin, Bryan Rust, Jack Johnson and, of course, Murray, did a masterful job of limiting the Devils to three shots during that sequence.
“We knew we were going to have to bear down,” Rust said. “We probably knew were going to have to block a couple of shots. Everybody when out there and stepped up.”
That allowed the Penguins to get an insurance goal at the 7:11 mark by forward Evgeni Malkin, his 25th of the season, with a wrister from the right circle past Blackwood’s blocker on the far side.
It proved to be the game-winner as Devils forward Mile Wood made it a one-goal game at 10:24 of the third with his 11th score.
Malkin restored a two-goal lead, 4-2, with an unassisted goal at 13:18, with another wrister from the right circle, while Letang capped off the scoring with an empty netter, his 15th of the season, at 18:45.
Murray made 20 saves in the victory to reach the 20-win barrier for the fourth consecutive season.
It was also the Penguins’ first win against a Metropolitan Division foe since Feb. 2.
Of their final 14 games, 12 are against divisional rivals.
“Tonight was a step in the right direction for sure,” Murray said. “We did everything that we needed to. We stayed on our toes. If we keep building on this one, we’ll be in good shape.”
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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