3 Takeaways From Penguins Chaotic 5-4 Overtime Win Over Predators

For the third game in a row, the Pittsburgh Penguins needed overtime to end the night, this time coming back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Nashville Predators 5-4 in overtime.

Bryan Rust was the hero, closing out the game four-point night and his overtime lamp at 1:07. In addition, Sidney Crosby snapped his first 10-game scoring drought when he picked up three assists.

Tristan Jarry collected the win, defeating former Vezina Trophy finalist Juuse Saros, who was in a losing streak with a .750 SV%.

As the Penguins pack up for their trip to New Jersey, let’s talk about their night in Music City.

She Wasn’t Pretty, To Say The Least

The Predators have the worst record in the NHL and have had a lot of problems this season, whether it’s scoring goals or keeping pucks in their net. So, this should have been an easy contest for the Penguins to win.

Instead, Pittsburgh didn’t go away and was lucky to be tied 3-3 heading into the third. The visitors scored nine goals after 40 minutes.

However, timely goals and saves from Jarry allowed the Penguins to stay in the contest and force overtime. In the end, they had a chance to win it in regulation but they didn’t muster any chances with a man advantage in the last two minutes.

Anyone watching the overtime highlights will wonder how on earth they survived sloppy passing in all three areas, but all it took was one shot from Rust to give Pittsburgh its eighth win in its last 11 games, the most wins in the NHL during that span. .

Always Chasing Game

The Penguins should write the motto “always chasing the game” somewhere because it describes the team’s first 34 games of the season.

Sportsnet Pittsburgh was embarrassed to report that Thursday night was the fifth time this year that Jarry has given up a goal on the first shot.

Meanwhile, the Predators became the 18th team to score first against the Penguins, accounting for 52.9% of their season.

Pittsburgh remains firmly in the wildcard race because it is 8-8-2 when giving up the first goal. However, it’s 3-1-1 in the last five games, all of which have come from behind.

Sloppy Play Could Hurt Penguins Going Forward

If the Penguins continue to play Jekyll and Hyde hockey, unable to beat non-playoff contenders and wildcard teams, they could be in for a rude awakening Saturday night in New Jersey.

The Devils lead the Metropolitan Division and have a plus-35 goal differential, nearly as many goals in a season as Pittsburgh has given up. New Jersey might be the better road team, but the Penguins (6-7-3) are a bit of a hit as a visitor.

Related: 5 Things You Should Know About Penguins Pierre-Olivier Joseph

Unlike their recent opponents, the Penguins will need a complete game effort, like the one we saw against the Boston Bruins and, most recently, the third period against the Montreal Canadiens.

Looking beyond the Devils, Pittsburgh returns home to take on their arch-rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, on Monday.

The Flyers are doing whatever they can to collect points, which means that if the Penguins want to remain a serious threat to the cards, they have to clean up their play, or they will be out of luck in the upcoming games.

Penguins & Predators Trivia Answers

How did you beat ours Game Day Trivia questions? Here are the answers.

1. Patric Hornqvist

2. Sidney Crosby

3. Marc-Andre Fleury

4. Robert Sun

5. James Neal

6. Evgeni Malkin

7. Jake Guentzel

8. Bob Boughner

9. Tom Barrasso

10. Bryan Rust