Penguins Defeat Panthers 5-4 in Overtime to Extend Win Streak to 4 Games – The Hockey Writers NHL News Latest News, Analysis & More

The Pittsburgh Penguins welcomed the Florida Panthers to Pittsburgh for an early-week matchup. Both teams looked to extend their win streaks to four in what ended up in a 5-4 Penguins overtime win after they blew a 4-1 lead. With the win, the Penguins move to 11-12-4, and the Panthers drop to 15-9-2.

Game Recap

The Panthers thought they had gotten on the board when a turnover by the Penguins on a failed breakout through the neutral zone ended up on the stick of Jesper Boqvist. But Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan successfully challenged the play for an offside call. A few minutes after the successful challenge, the Penguins’ forecheck helped Owen Pickering score the first NHL goal of his career on an assist by Blake Lizotte. The Penguins scored again less than two minutes later after a smooth transition play leading to Evgeni Malkin scoring his sixth of the season for a 2-0 lead.

The Panthers seemed to take control of the period in the second 10 minutes, showing off their relentless forecheck and pressure on the Penguins and goaltender Tristan Jarry. The Panthers broke through, with Matthew Tkachuk cashing in from the slot to close the gap to 2-1. The first period ended in a Penguins 2-1 lead even though the Panthers outshot them 13-5.

The second 20 minutes was more of a back-and-forth period, with both teams playing strong defensively. The Penguins cashed in on solid puck movement and cycling in the offensive zone when Kris Letang found his way down low and beat Panthers goalie Spencer Knight on a short-angle shot. After two periods, the Penguins led 3-1, with the Panthers holding a 24-10 advantage in the shot department.

The Penguins extended their lead to three with Sidney Crosby feeding Marcus Pettersson, who made a strong move to the net to beat Knight for a 4-1 lead early in the third. The Panthers’ comeback started with Jesper Boqvist finding Sam Bennett in the slot for a quick forehand shot that beat Jarry from point-blank range to bring the Panthers within two. It continued with Adam Boqvist and Tkachuk scoring to tie the game after the Panthers scored three times in less than five minutes. The third period ended in a 4-4 deadlock, pushing it to overtime.

In overtime, Bryan Rust played hero for the Penguins, cashing in on a two-on-one to give his team a 5-4 win.

In the win, Jarry saved 37 of 41 shots, while Knight stopped 11 of the 16 he faced.

The Penguins are off until Friday (Dec. 6), when they travel to New York to take on the Rangers. The Panthers look to get back in the win column on Thursday (Dec. 5) when they head to Philadelphia to face off against the Flyers.