Tim Benz: Another 'gotta have it' game for Penguins goes the right way this time

In the Pittsburgh Penguins’ latest “gotta have it” game, they actually got it.

They didn’t get it Thursday against the New York Rangers when it felt like the Penguins had to secure a win against an opponent most hockey observers in Pittsburgh have long assumed they would face in the first round of the postseason.

Yet, the Rangers won a third consecutive showdown between the clubs as goalie Igor Shesterkin posted a 3-0 shutout, continuing his year-long control of the crease against the Pens.

They didn’t get it Saturday against the Washington Capitals either, as the Pens were looking to prevent a four-game losing streak and slow the momentum Washington had built toward catching the Pens in the Metropolitan Division standings. The Caps left Pittsburgh with two more points thanks to a 6-3 victory.

But the Penguins did get it Sunday against the Nashville Predators, winning 3-2 in overtime at PPG Paints Arena.

“It’s obviously a huge win. When you lose a few games in a row, sometimes you feel like you’re never going to win again,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “It’s the same feeling when you win a bunch of games in a row. We went on that stretch earlier in the year when we went 17-3 and we felt like we were never going to lose again. The reality is that there is a fine line. We’ve got to believe in what we’re doing here, pay attention to the details, and believe in one another. … This is a proud group. It’s an important win for us.”

The Penguins had to get this one for a number of reasons.

• Washington also won Sunday, nailing down a 4-2 victory over the Boston Bruins. Had the Penguins lost in regulation to the Predators for a fifth straight contest, the Caps would’ve been within two points of the Pens for third place. As it stands now, the Penguins have 94 points with eight games remaining, the Capitals have 90 with 10 games left.

• The Penguins needed to show they could beat a good team again. The Preds are still in a Western Conference playoff spot with 87 points. Coming into the game, Sullivan’s team had played seven teams in playoff slots since March 25. Six of those games resulted in losses.

• The Penguins just had to stop the bleeding. Four consecutive defeats. Only two wins in their previous nine games.

Who cares if the victory came against a Western Conference team? Yielding a loser point to the Preds also matters little.

No one illustrated a better sense of how important the victory was than team captain Sidney Crosby. He scored twice, including the overtime game-winner.

SIMPLY SIDSATIONAL. pic.twitter.com/tKHWNhbklL

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 10, 2022

Crosby also assisted on Jason Zucker’s goal to tie the game in the third period. Give winger Rickard Rakell credit, too. He assisted on all three Penguins goals, showing good chemistry with Crosby when those opportunities presented themselves.

“You look at some of those games we probably deserved better,” Crosby said. “There are ones where we could’ve easily been on the winning side of things. But when you lose a string of games like that, you just want to put an end to it and get in the win column.”

Goaltender Casey DeSmith came up huge as well, stopping 33 of 35 shots, including six of six on power-play opportunities. DeSmith had two sparklers in the third period, and perhaps his best effort in the second, stoning Tanner Jeannot with the left pad.

DENIED! ???? pic.twitter.com/zPQKR4qeat

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 10, 2022

“It felt good,” DeSmith said of the win. “It’s tough when you feel like you are doing a lot of good things, playing the right way, trying to focus on everything that Sully is telling us. Things that we feel like we need to fix, and you still lose a couple of games. That’s a good morale booster for us. … It’s a good feeling.”

The game didn’t come without potential concerns, though. The Pens were outshot 35-30. They lost 52.6% of the faceoffs. They drew only one penalty and were short-handed four times. And Evgeni Malkin took a double minor at the end of the second period when he got his stick and gloves into the face of Nashville’s Mark Borowiecki. It’s a play that had the TNT intermission crew pontificating that Malkin could receive a suspension anywhere between three and 10 games.

But whatever hurdles remain for the Penguins, the foremost goal needs to be keeping the bleeding stopped now that they’ve been stitched up.

They’ve got eight games left. Back-to-back contests against the New York Islanders and the Bruins over the next four outings won’t be easy. Then dates against the Red Wings, Flyers, Oilers and Blue Jackets to close out the year. Of that second group of four, only the Oilers are currently in a playoff spot so there is room there for the Pens to stack some points, secure themselves in the best possible playoff position and, if nothing else, feel better about how they are playing come playoff time.

With the way things have gone the last 18 days — and the last three years in the playoffs — the Penguins will take whatever positives they can into the postseason.