Tim Benz: Penguins' victory in Montreal is the latest in a long line of potential launch points

In a season that’s been up and down at times (to be kind) and flat-out maddening at others (to be blunt), the Pittsburgh Penguins have constantly been searching for that lightning bolt moment.

They’ve hunted for a turnaround game that could ignite an extended winning streak. One that would eventually outlast the sub-mediocre play they’ve shown the first three months of the season. Play that caused them to be 12-12-3 entering Wednesday night’s game in Montreal.

Most recently, that galvanizing win was supposed to be the two-goal comeback in Tampa Bay on Nov. 30 when goalie Tristan Jarry scored an empty-net goal.

Then the Pens lost four in a row.

Before that, it was the 3-0 shutout of the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 19.

Then the Pens lost three of four.

The first one was allegedly a 4-0 shutout of the Colorado Avalanche to snap a three-game slide — only to see the Penguins follow that up with home losses to Anaheim and Ottawa.

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So maybe that singularly identifiable, low-hanging-fruit turning-point victory isn’t going to happen. And if the Penguins do get hot, it just creeps up on us, and we look up in the standings after they’ve won 12 of 15 and they are in a playoff spot.

Orrrrrr … did it maybe happen Wednesday night in Montreal?

Unlike some of those other games we outlined, when the Penguins played some of their best hockey against a batch of recent Stanley Cup champions, Wednesday night’s win was no Picasso against the 12-13-4 Canadiens. For both clubs, it was sloppy, scattered and penalty-filled. The Pens found themselves down 3-1 heading into the first intermission.

Yet they managed to win 4-3 after a 12-round shootout to grab two points.

“It wasn’t the cleanest game from a tactical standpoint,” head coach Mike Sullivan said with a wry smile on the team’s website. “But I just love our compete level and the resilience.”

The game featured a lot to get excited about beyond the two-goal comeback. Sidney Crosby had a three-point performance (two goals, one assist). The captain passed former Penguins Hall of Famer Paul Coffey (1,531) on the NHL’s all-time points list and tied ex-teammate (and former Canadien) Mark Recchi for 13th with 1,533.

With this point, Sidney Crosby ties Paul Coffey for 14th place on the NHL's all-time points list with 1,531! pic.twitter.com/73sqMMEEQK

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 14, 2023

Sidney Crosby does it again! Tie game AND he ties Mark Recchi for 13th most points in NHL history!@penguins |#LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/fer8POTDTf

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) December 14, 2023

“To be in company with ‘Rex,’ having played with him, having watched him here,” Crosby said. “I know the kind of career he had, and how good he was, and how consistent he was. So, it’s definitely a compliment to be in company with him.”

After allowing three first-period goals, goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (39 saves) bounced back with some huge stops over the last 40 minutes, plus nine more in overtime. And he matched Montreal’s Sam Montembeault save-for-save in a shootout that lasted 12 rounds before it was eventually won by, of all people, Pittsburgh’s Jansen Harkins.

JANSEN HARKINS, SHOOTOUT HERO! pic.twitter.com/oM5LtHNRgJ

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 14, 2023

“I just shot the puck,” Harkins said. “That’s a huge stage. A bit of nerves. I hadn’t been on the ice in a while. So I just went out there and tried to get it off.”

Not to mention that the recently-maligned power play, which had been 0 for 37 before a two-goal effort Tuesday against Arizona, registered two second-period goals from Crosby and Jake Guentzel.

Plus, this all happened on the dads’ trip with the players’ fathers in attendance as part of a raucous crowd in one of hockey’s most historic cities.

THE DADS LOVE IT! WE ALL LOVE IT! pic.twitter.com/gpgD9QHeI2

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 14, 2023

So maybe this win is the acorn that grows into the oak tree that becomes a playoff season for the Penguins. That was the ambition after missing the postseason for the first time since 2007 last year and then reconfiguring the team’s front office, blueline and bottom six.

Or maybe the Penguins drop their next three and suck the wind out of their own sails once again.

One thing is clear, though. The Penguins (29 points) do need an extended spurt to gobble up some points in the standings and make up for lost time. After Saturday’s visit with the Toronto Maple Leafs — who have 35 points and are in third place in the Atlantic Division — Sullivan’s team plays Minnesota and Carolina at home before visiting Ottawa.

None of those three teams are currently in a playoff spot. Neither are the Penguins.

Now would be a good time to do something about that.