Penguins/Predators Recap: Well that was a saucy one. Pens win spirited game in OT

Are we having fun yet? Bryan Rust’s OT goal caps a game in Nashville that had plenty of ups and downs

Pregame

Tristan Jarry is back in the net, otherwise the Penguin lineup is the same as it’s been lately.

First period

Jarry in the net, you know the drill. Predators score an early one on the second shot of the game, Jonathan Marchessault steers in a pass from Filip Forsberg in front. Nashville up early.

Some controversy on this since earlier in the sequence it sure looked like the puck hit the netting and was out of play, but play continued on.

Marchessault takes a hooking penalty, he must not have liked it because when he gets out of the box Marchessault puts Rickard Rakell’s stick under his arm and falls over for no reason beside to attract attention. It didn’t look that obvious until the replay, vet move to work the refs with some embellishment to get a power play for his team. They don’t score.

Pittsburgh ties it up late in the first, Sidney Crosby draws the defense in, moves it to Rakell who makes a very nice touch pass over for Bryan Rust goal hanging on the back post. 1-1.

For as much legit griping about the officiating, there can be nothing said about the Anthony Beauvillier interference minor that happens only seconds after the game-tying goal. Dumb decision by Beauvillier to dump a player into the board from behind like that. Nashville takes advantage, big shot from Tommy Novak leaves a rebound and Luke Evangelista is there to punch it home.

Tough situation to give up after tying the game.

Shots are only 9-5 through the first period. The Pens didn’t even have a shot on goal until 6:45 was left in the period, which deserves to be highlighted as much as the early goal woes are.

Second period

The Preds get another power play, Blake Lizotte bumps Steven Stamkos. There was contact but Stamkos sure sold that one like his leg was about to fall off. The Preds don’t score on the power play but Stamkos is able to shake off the horrible spill and sling in a goal. This goal negated what would have been another Nashville power play for Marchessault spinning like a top and flying down to the ice, incredible display of showmanship in the Music City tonight! Another tip to the refs for missing this goal being scored and needing a min to confirm, not the best night for the boys in stripes.

In fairness to the Preds, it’s not just them it’s the refs. Michael Bunting falls down on his own accord reaching to play a puck and somehow the end result is Brady Skjei going in for a tripping call. Maybe they were just tired of calling it all one way? Anyways, Michael McCarron gives Crosby a rough ride into the boards, Crosby shakes it off, drops to a knee and deflects in a goal to break his 10-game goal drought and instead of celebrating is icily barking profanities at McCarron. We officially have a five-alarm saucy one tonight. 3-2 NSH.

The first line keeps it rolling and ties the game. Rust breaks up a breakout attempt, Crosby is all over it. The captain feeds Rakell who centers the puck with Rust in front. It goes in, Rakell’s 15th of the season and the game is tied.

Shots in the second are only 7-4 NSH. Not a lot of pucks getting to the net, but when they do they are going in for both of the teams. 3-3 game and total shots are only 16-9 in favor of the Preds. It’s apparently in the Pens’ DNA now to not shoot much in Nashville but still score a bunch of goals, shoutout 2017.

Third period

Erik Karlsson going off for holding the stick 38 seconds in. Pens’ PK works this time.

Ref show continues when an icing is waived off for unknown reasons, Nashville capitalizes and scores to make it 4-3.

It’s been a while since all hell’s broken loose but it does again when Lizotte drops a Pred who topples over and slides from the blue line to the red line. Nashville players go crazy pounding Lizotte, Karlsson gets into it (and gets cut from an errant high stick from a teammate). The wisdom of the refereeing tonight decides to stick with just Lizotte going to the penalty box. Cool, cool. Pens rightfully get a kill there.

Karlsson is furious for being made to bleed his own blood (shh, no one tell him it was accidentally friendly fire) and is on a mission. His first shot doesn’t go in. His next one sure as hell does. 4-4 game.

A game this nuts is screaming for extra time. We get it.

Overtime

Crosby wins the faceoff and breaks his stick, he mucks around with the puck in his skates, ‘cuz we’ve seen almost everything else tonight.

The Pens win it in, fittingly, wild fashion. Evgeni Malkin drops a pass to a player who isn’t there, the Preds can’t take advantage and hand the puck right back to Rust (who likely saves the game by breaking up the pass attempt for a breakaway). Finally Malkin gets on the same page with his teammates and, as is oft to happen, the first OT shot on goal is the last when Rust fires in his second goal of the game.

Some thoughts

• Jarry’s first goal allowed tonight came on the second shot on goal for the opponent. This marks the 12th time out of 14 starts that he’s surrendered a goal within the first five shots on goal this season. When will the madness end? If the other team gets a half-way decent chance early, it’s going to hit the back of the net.
• This space almost never comments on the officiating, but it was impossible to watch the game and not notice the impact of the decisions they made tonight. That’s never the sign of a good game for the zebras. A lot of it went against the Pens with the puck hitting the netting and the inexplicable decision to waive off an icing that helped for two goals against. The penalty calls were a gong show too, though some of that can be nodded at the antics of the Predators in this one. Marchessault has long held a reputation of being one of the league’s most notorious divers and he was on his A-game there tonight. In a perfect world the league needs to up the ante with a fine or warning or whatever they want to do that’s better than doing what they will end up doing (which, of course, is nothing).
• It was exciting to see a game with some old fashioned bad blood boiling up organically with two teams growing angrier and angrier with one another as the night went on. Too many nights that kind of passion and emotion is missing in the NHL these days (that’s the oldest man sentence I’ve ever written). Not as much to see a ham ‘n egger like Cole Smith throttling Crosby on the neck, can do without that, but a little dander getting worked up is good for the entertainment value.
• The Pens’ first line was amazing, building off an excellent third period last game. Crosby broke his goal drought and had four points on the night. Rust had four points as well. Rakell “only” had two but scored a clutch goal along the way. Tremendous showing from all of them.
• It can be largely unpopular to praise Karlsson these days, but he’s playing some very fine hockey lately. Karlsson scored the all-important game-tying goal in the third period, and it was his shot attempt that Crosby tipped in. Karlsson was on the ice for four of the five goals that Pittsburgh scored tonight, no coincidence there.
• Also, Crosby’s 10 game goal-drought, will have to go back and check but how many was playing power play without Karlsson/Malkin? Feels like maybe 7-8 games that the talent split has been around. And then almost as soon as Karlsson/Malkin got on the power play with Crosby, 87 scores tonight. It doesn’t have to be that difficult..
• Beauvillier only got three shifts (for 2:29) in the second period and two shifts (for 1:21) in the third period following his really, really bad and dumb penalty late in the first period. To quote Superbad, “people don’t forget”. And in this case, the people were his coaches. We’ll see if that costs him a chance at playing in the next game.

The Pens will take the positive performance and boot, scoot and boogie right out of Nashville and head over to New Jersey for their next game on Saturday.