Tim Benz: Penguins’ wild comeback over Blue Jackets was entertaining, but first 2 periods were alarming

Something felt familiar about the first two periods of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ performance against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena.

There was a certain smell about it. Like if you took a December Steelers’ road trip out to Oakland and put it on skates.

A late-season, “gotta have it” game against a rotten opponent and the team wearing Black and Gold still managed to show up flat. For the first 40 minutes, the only thing that was missing was some bad turf and a faulty X-ray machine.

The Penguins managed to fall behind the NHL’s worst team 4-0 and were still down 4-1 heading into the second intermission.

For as odious as the Penguins were through two periods, though, Mike Sullivan’s team managed to bail themselves out of what would have been a soul-crushing defeat with a three-goal barrage to open the third period.

Jake Guentzel, Jason Zucker and Danton Heinen all scored within the first four minutes of the final frame, and the Pens suddenly found themselves tied with 16 minutes remaining in a contest that would’ve been an absolute gut-punch to start a crucial five-game homestand had they lost it.

But they didn’t. They won it in overtime on a Sidney Crosby power-play goal.

Some vintage Sidney Crosby to net this @Energizer overtime winner for the @penguins, who came back from a 4-0 deficit to secure the W. ️ pic.twitter.com/cK3iExudP7

— NHL (@NHL) March 8, 2023

For those hoping to read some tale of Sullivan channeling Herb Brooks in between periods of the 1980 gold medal game against Finland, I hate to disappoint you. There also weren’t any players peeling the paint off the walls with a second-intermission riot act speech like Greg Lloyd gave during halftime of a season finale against the Cleveland Browns in 1993.

They just played better. Or, at least good enough for 20 minutes to beat a team with the fewest points in hockey.

“I don’t think we have too many guys that are going to be breaking sticks and doing stuff like that in the room,” Zucker said of the second intermission. “We knew that wasn’t good enough. We are a veteran group. We know what we need to be doing. We got after it a little bit in the second, but definitely in the third.”

Sullivan credited the veteran wherewithal of the team to stay poised while at the same time playing with heightened urgency given the score and the opponent.

“I have to believe that the experience that we have helps us in those situations. These guys have been through a lot in the course of their careers. … I have to believe that having been through those experiences offers our team a certain perspective in being able to react the right way, so we don’t necessarily overreact,” Sullivan said.

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The most curious question is: Why did it take that kind of hole against that lowly of an opponent for the Penguins to find that level of desperation?

It’s all well and good for Sullivan to praise the Penguins for having the veteran awareness to open the throttle once they were down four goals to a team that many assume would be tanking for Connor Bedard.

But that same veteran group should also be acutely aware of their circumstances the moment they arrive at the rink. That this five-game homestand could make or break the franchise’s quest for a 17th straight playoff berth. That the potential of forfeiting points at home to a team as bad as Columbus in March could result in the team staying home from the playoffs in April.

Where was the sense of desperation at the drop of the opening puck? Or at the very least, when they got down 2-0 eight minutes into the game?

“We just had a little wakeup call there. We knew that wasn’t the start that we wanted. But everybody was calm. We never got too frustrated. We just kinda stuck with it,” Heinen insisted.

Good. I’m glad they woke up. But sleep walking through the first 40 minutes will cost the Penguins dearly if they do it again against any team slightly better than Columbus.

Which means, basically, any other team in the league.

The Penguins have 73 points with 19 games remaining. They are a point behind the New York Islanders for the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They are only three points ahead of the Florida Panthers for the second (and last) wild-card spot. Both of those clubs scraped out one-goal wins on Tuesday as well.

The Islanders visit PPG Paints Arena on Thursday. New York has beaten the Penguins three times already this season. No reminders of the standings or circumstances should be needed before that game to make sure the Penguins avoid another lousy start.

Then again, nothing like that should’ve been necessary before faceoff against the Blue Jackets either.