Tim Benz: Penguins flip the script to avoid another late-game collapse against Oilers

It’s fitting that the Pittsburgh Penguins’ “Star Wars Night” promotion Thursday evening followed Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

That defeat created a great disturbance in the force at PPG Paints Arena.

The Penguins blew a 3-1 advantage in the third period, then lost the shootout 2-0, thus yielding an important point to a division rival.

On Thursday, a 5-1 Pens’ lead against the potent Edmonton Oilers was whittled to 5-3 before the second intermission.

This time, however, the Penguins adopted Yoda’s philosophy when it came to protecting that lead: “Do. Or do not. There is no ‘try.’”

“Our goal was to keep playing in their face,” forward Bryan Rust said. “Keep being on our toes. Do what you need to do to get it done.”

That’s what the Penguins accomplished in the third period, blanking the Oilers over the last 20 minutes to claim the 5-3 victory. That result snapped a four-game winning streak for Edmonton and a four-game losing streak for the Penguins.

Fortunately, goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic had a force field around the net in the third period. He stopped all 16 shots from the Oilers over the final frame despite some quality looks from the likes of offensive weapons such as Leon Draisaitl (who had two goals on the night) and Connor McDavid (who had three assists).

“Every period, you have to hit the reset button a little bit,” Nedeljkovic said. “You know you are going to get their best. They pushed. They were on top of us. They responded. We did a good job of handling it, not giving up too much.”

Overall, Nedeljkovic was strong between the pipes, making 40 saves. His most impressive stop may have actually been followed by Draisaitl’s first goal to make it 3-1 in the first period.

3️⃣0️⃣‼️ #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/7vERlLrWc3

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 10, 2025

“I thought Ned had a strong game,” coach Mike Sullivan said.

“The thing we love about Ned is that he is consistent. He competes hard. He battles hard. You know what you are going to get from him night in and night out.”

Nedeljkovic and the Penguins prevented any attempt at an Edmonton comeback in the third period with a clutch penalty kill after Michael Bunting was assessed a roughing penalty that had the 17,004 in attendance incensed.

It was the kind of moment that, on so many occasions this year, would normally result in a goal and would’ve further ignited a comeback for the opposition against these Penguins, who seem to let multi-goal leads evaporate with regularity.

But they were determined to prevent that from happening again this time.

“All game long, we focused on details and played well defensively as a unit,” defenseman Kris Letang said. “It was a pretty good game. You knew at one point in the second they were coming with a push. I think we reacted pretty well.”

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As Rust pointed out after the bitter loss to Columbus two nights ago, the Pens are in no position to give away any points when they have the chance. So, technically, you can’t say that beating the Oilers “made up” for the shootout loss on Tuesday, especially since that point was yielded to another Eastern Conference foe that’s chasing a wild-card spot. It was a point they’ll never get back.

However, to begin this crucial five-game homestand, if someone had said the Penguins would start it 1-0-1 against the Oilers and Blue Jackets, I certainly would’ve been satisfied. After all, the Pens had lost seven in a row to Edmonton dating back to 2020.

Forfeiting that point to Columbus still stings, but if they can win the next two in regulation against Ottawa on Saturday and Tampa Bay on Sunday, it’ll be a lot easier to digest in the wake of this victory over the Oilers. The Lightning have 46 points, good for third in the Atlantic Division. That’s two points better than the Blue Jackets and Penguins, who are tied for the final wild-card slot with 44. The Senators are right behind them with 41 points.

Provided the Penguins can avoid succumbing to the dark side of blowing leads and frittering away momentum, the prospect of a successful homestand still exists.