Tim Benz: Penguins reverse some negative trends in wild win over Panthers

If you are looking for things to complain about coming out of Tuesday’s Pittsburgh Penguins’ 7-6 overtime win over the Florida Panthers, the excitement quotient can’t be one of them.

“I don’t know if I had a laugh, but it was an entertaining game. I’m sure you guys might have,” Sullivan said to the media. “There were a lot of good plays made on both sides. There’s a lot of talent on both teams. The entertainment value is off the charts.”

That’s well-summarized by Sullivan. Tuesday’s fireworks display at PPG Paints Arena illustrated why hockey can be a weird sport to follow and consume sometimes.

In many ways, games like that one are an affront to textbook hockey for purists to observe. On the other hand, those are the games the average sports fan may enjoy the most. You went to a hockey game and an “And1” mixtape on skates broke out.

“I don’t think we played the game tight. It was another one of those high-event games. We have to get better there,” Sullivan said.

Sure. There was a ton for Sullivan and his coaching staff to fret about following that victory. Defensive zone coverage and responsibility. Puck management decisions. A poor start to the first period. Goaltending, as Casey DeSmith had to step in for Tristan Jarry who was a late scratch.

But three areas that had been major problem spots for the Penguins all season actually ended up balancing those shortcomings and tilted the result in Pittsburgh’s favor.

Blue line scoring

Coming into the game, the Penguins had just 12 goals all season from their defensemen. Kris Letang’s recent absence — because of a stroke, an injury, and the death of his father — hasn’t helped in that regard.

On Tuesday, playing in his first game since Dec. 28, Letang scored twice, including the overtime game-winner.

IT IS KRIS LETANG'S NIGHT AND WE'RE LOVING EVERY SECOND ???? pic.twitter.com/Krr8kWi1Jz

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 25, 2023

“I couldn’t be happier for Tanger,” Sullivan said. “With everything that he has been through the last little while. To come back and have the night that he has had after everything that he has been through. It was an emotional night for him, and the whole team for that matter. We are all living through it with him. Everybody was ecstatic to get Tanger back in the lineup.”

Letang now has four goals to lead all Penguins defensemen.

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Depth scoring

As discussed in our most recent “Madden Monday” podcast, prior to Tuesday’s faceoff, the Penguins were on a run where 21 of their last 23 goals were scored by members of the top two lines. Not only were the defensemen failing to score, but the bottom six were providing nothing.

Tuesday night, however, the team’s second goal was scored by Danton Heinen.

Go to the net and good things happen: a lesson from Danton Heinen. pic.twitter.com/uH2G4JdeTj

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 25, 2023

The fifth goal went to Drew O’Connor.

JUST LIKE WE DREW IT UP! ✍️ pic.twitter.com/hrsuBseKkP

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 25, 2023

“It’s great any time you get contributions from your blue line and your bottom six,” Sullivan said. “It helps you immensely with the result. It’s hard when you are relying on the same guys all the time to score goals for you.”

For O’Connor, that’s just his third goal of the season. For Heinen, it’s his fourth and his first since October.

Winning in overtime

The Penguins have had their struggles playing in overtime. They were 2-8 in three-on-three play this season. But they managed to gain the extra point on Florida on Tuesday.

That’s big because Florida began the night with 51 points, just three behind the Penguins for the final playoff slot in the Eastern Conference.

“It’s great. It all happened in one game,” Heinen said of reversing the negative trends. “It’s just situational. You just try to play the right way. … To get an overtime win, it’s good moving forward.”

Now with 56 points apiece, the Penguins and Washington Capitals are tied for the two wild-card slots. They play each other Thursday in Washington. The Buffalo Sabres have moved in front of the Panthers for ninth place with 53 points after a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

Indeed, many details went wrong for the Penguins on Tuesday. But, on a night when every ounce of offense was needed, a lot that had been going badly ended up going right.

And at just the right time.