Our Penguins entered last night’s do-or-die matchup with Montréal with a crystal clear mandate. A win was an absolute must in order to keep our flickering playoff hopes alive.
I’m happy to report…mission accomplished.
After rallying to tie the score at 2-2 midway through the third period on a goal by Jake Guentzel, the Pens completed their comeback on a snipe at 2:43 of overtime by, of all players, Marcus Pettersson. In the process, nipping an 0-2-1 slide in the bud and propelling the team into the All-Star break with a little positive mojo.
Looking remarkably fresh considering they’d been embroiled in a physical, emotional contest with the Panthers the night before, our guys displayed plenty of hop from the get-go. However, the Canadiens grabbed the lead on a backdoor goal by second-year defenseman Kaiden Guhle, thanks to a pretty setup from former Pen Mike Matheson.
However, the one thing this black-and-gold bunch has done well all year is hang tough, particularly when trailing. Once again, they stuck to their guns and embraced an uphill battle, even with Habs netminder Jake Allen doing a pretty fair imitation of Georges Vezina between the pipes.
