In overtime, the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Florida Panthers last night at PPG Paints Arena 7-6.
Forwards Sidney Crosby, Danton Heinen, and Evgeni Malkin each had a goal and two assists for the Pens, who improved to 24-15-8, and 3-0-2 in their last five games. Goalie Casey DeSmith made 33 saves after Tristan Jarry was an unexpected scratch with an upper-body injury. It was revealed today that Jarry will be out until after the All-Star break.
Forward Carter Verhaeghe had two goals, defenseman Aaron Ekblad had a goal and two assists, and forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart each had a goal and assist for the Panthers, who are now 23-21-6, and have lost their last three out of five games. Goaltender Alex Lyon made 42 saves in his second straight game in as many days.
Less than seven minutes into the game, Reinhart would give the Panthers the 1-0 lead off a wrist shot. Then Tkachuk would extend the lead to 2-0 on the power play just over eight minutes in. At 10:56, forward Rickard Rakell would cut the Panthers’ lead in half and make it 2-1. At 11:56, Heinen would tie the game at 2-2 off a rebound of a Ryan Poehling one-timer. It was his first goal in 34 games. With less than two minutes remaining in the first, defenseman Kris Letang, in his first game back since injury and his father’s death, would give the Pens the 3-2 lead. With less than a minute to go in the period, Verhaeghe would tie the game at 3-3 on a breakaway.
At 10:34 in the second period, Ekblad would give the Panthers a 4-3 lead after potting home a shorthanded goal. He became the first defenseman in Panthers history to score multiple shorthanded goals. With less than a minute to go in the second, Crosby would score on the power play to tie the game at 4-4.
Just over four minutes into the third, forward Colin White would give the Panthers the 5-4 lead after dangling around DeSmith. At 10:29, forward Drew O’Connor would tie the game up at 5-5. Then at 14:30, Malkin would bury home a one-timer on the power play to give the Pens the 6-5 lead. At 17:28, Verhaeghe would score again on a wraparound to tie the game at 6-6.
With 54 seconds remaining in overtime, Letang would score his second of the game to give the Pens the 7-6 win. He finished with two goals and two assists in his first game back. It was his 31st career NHL overtime point, which ties him with current San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson for the most overtime points by a defenseman in NHL history.
Florida forward Sam Bennett did not play after being injured on Monday versus the New York Rangers. Goalie Spencer Knight also did not suit up for the Panthers, as Head Coach Paul Maurice said that he was “not ready to go.”
