With 1:33 remaining in the first period of Saturday night's game, the recently snakebitten Penguins finally found the net behind the Coyotes' goaltender, Darcy Kuemper. You know, that giant black mesh that extends 20 feet above the glass around each end zone to protect spectators.
Otherwise, despite their best efforts, they couldn't put anything into that 6x4 space Kuemper was being paid to protect.
Just moments earlier, Juuso Riikola twice rang shots squarely off the post. Before that, Sidney Crosby was in on a partial break but was denied by the glove. And it appeared to be yet another one of those nights for a group that had entered the evening on a four-year-worst five-game losing streak.
But as Kuemper found out, you can only keep Crosby down for so long.
At 6:42 of the second period, the captain broke through, scoring yet another one of his patented highlight-reel backhanders that somehow found a space over Kuemper's left shoulder:
"I think that's become fairly routine," said Bryan Rust, one of Crosby's many linemates.
Remarkable as it was, it wasn't the most impressive thing that Crosby did on Saturday. Seriously.
The stat sheet will show that Crosby had a two-point night -- ho-hum for him -- but his skate tracks were all over the Penguins' much-needed 4-0 win over the Coyotes. In addition to his goal, he assisted on Brian Dumoulin's first of the season that iced the game, was a plus-4 and won 62 percent of his faceoffs.
With the general manager threatening to shake up this team as we know it, it was Crosby -- the one player who absolutely, positively won't be going anywhere anytime soon -- who seemed most inspired.
"He led by example and that's what great leaders do when a team needs a boost, and I think we all followed suit," Rust said.
You saw that in the third period Wednesday night in Washington when he went down to his knees to block a shot. And you saw it again Friday afternoon too, when he was the last player off the practice ice by at least 20 minutes in Cranberry.
"I thought Sid was terrific tonight," Sullivan said. "He was playing the game we've all grown accustomed to watching. He's an elite player that makes everyone around him better. He was a difference-maker tonight in this game."
The Penguins' second goal, a redirection by Dominik Simon on a slick feed from Rust, was the result of extended offensive zone time that was generated first and foremost by Crosby's churning legs:
"He's so strong on his skates, so good on his edges down low that if you kind of pop into space at the right time, as soon he makes his cut, he's probably going to get a step on his guy and that's going to leave you open," Rust was telling me.
Ask Jordan Oesterle about that. The Coyotes' defenseman was powerless in trying to stop him.
Simon's goal was noteworthy not only because it gave the Penguins multiple goals in a game for the first time in 10 days, it was also the only one Crosby scored with his "regular" linemates.
At least in terms of ice time, the Penguins got the most from the least of Crosby. He logged just 16:54, the second fewest minutes he's played this season.
Though he played 8:30-plus with Rust and Simon, Crosby also once again saw some shifts -- 3:28 at even strength -- with Phil Kessel. That is something not seen since Kessel's earliest days with the team in 2015-16. That was just before Sullivan took over for Mike Johnston as well as the last time that the Penguins had endured a five-game skid.
However, desperate times call for desperate measures.
Sullivan said that Crosby's supreme fitness level allowed him to be double shifted at times. And, he added, he's not opposed to doing it again in the future if the situation calls for it. Obviously, Saturday did.
"When a team goes through a little bit of a struggle like we've had over the last week and a half or so, sometimes a little bit of change isn't a bad thing," Sullivan said. "It gives guys an opportunity to maybe get a fresh look with different people. Sometimes it inspires people or might create a spark, or we may find that we fall into something that we really like."
Crosby clearly liked playing with Kessel. When they were on the ice together, it resulted in five shots for and just one against. One of those was Crosby's goal which was started by Kessel's saucer pass.
"It's been good," Crosby said of his long-awaited reunion with Kessel. "I feel like we've gotten some pretty good chances, good looks on 2-on-1's and in and around the net. I think you find yourself looking for him a lot, because of how dangerous he is once he gets in the offensive zone, and how he shoots it."
Whether or how much Crosby and Kessel continue to see time together remains to be seen, but it would seem doubtful to continue. Sullivan's inclination is to have a balanced scoring attack with three lines. He wants his team to play with a defensive conscience and not trade chance for chance. That explains why Kessel was taken off Evgeni Malkin's line earlier this week.
The beauty in Crosby's game, one of a few dozen, is that he's low maintenance. Would he like to have a 40-goal scorer on one of his wings? Probably.
But he's not going to whine about it. As he showed against the Coyotes, he can be effective whether his linemates are Simon and Rust or Jake Guentzel and Kessel.
"When you're in the situation we've been in, it's next guy up," Crosby said. "'Let's go over there and make something happen.' If we have that mentality, it doesn't matter who you're playing with. We're going to create things and we're going to create momentum. I feel like everyone has to accept whoever they're out there with and make sure they're doing the right things all over the ice. Regardless of who anyone played with, we had pretty good momentum from every line."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THREE STARS
My curtain calls go to …
1. Sidney Crosby
Penguins center
A goal, assist, plus-4 rating and won 62 percent of his faceoffs. A dominant performance on both ends of the ice.
2. Casey DeSmith
Penguins goaltender
In his second straight start, made 39 saves -- some of them spectacular -- to earn the shutout.
3. Bryan Rust
Penguins right winger
Drew a penalty, earned an assist and played with sense of urgency that had been missing ...
THE GOOD
No one felt worse about the loss to the Capitals than DeSmith, who gave up T.J. Oshie's winning goal with 1:14 remaining. But he played well enough Wednesday to earn the start against the Coyotes and, after this shutout, he's probably earned the right to start Tuesday night against the Devils in Newark. But that's a decision for another day.
On Saturday, DeSmith did what the Penguins needed and that's to give his team a chance to win. He faced 39 shots and turned away all, including this point-blank, pad stop on Michael Grabner early in the third period:
DeSmith said it "takes a little bit of luck sometimes" to earn a shutout, but clearly his confidence is growing with each passing game. Sullivan reiterated earlier in the day that Matt Murray will be the guy, but DeSmith is clearly the guy for now.
"As long as I keep playing well and playing my game and getting results, confidence keeps building," DeSmith said. "Confidence is good for any hockey player. I just happen to have some right now."
THE BAD
Not to nit-pick too much, but the Penguins' power play went 0 for 2, mustering two shots. It might be time for Sullivan to rethink splitting up Crosby and Malkin. Also, the Penguins were outshot, 39-32, and were out-possessed, with the Coyotes holding a 61-39 Corsi For percentage in all situations.
Sometimes advanced statistics don't paint an accurate picture. It was a complete win for the home team.
THE PLAY
It had to be Crosby's top-shelf backhand goal to open the scoring, right?
It was nearly identical to the one he scored Oct. 25 at Calgary against Mike Smith.
On Saturday, Kuemper held tight to his near side post but Crosby still saw a small sliver of daylight and banked it off the goalie's shoulder and in.
"He has such a sick backhand shot," said Simon. "There's not even too much space and he hits it. It's fun to watch."
Kuemper might not agree.
THE CALL
Kessel, not exactly a goon, doubled his season penalty minute total by earning a double-minor for clipping the neck of Lawson Crouse at 14:26 of the second period. The errant highstick drew a nick that most of us -- OK, me -- suffer while shaving. It was Kessel's second penalty of the game following a first-period slash.
Still with a 2-0 lead, the double-minor gave the Coyotes ample opportunity to get right back in the game.
But as they were in Washington on Wednesday when they killed off a five-minute major, the Penguins penalty kill was up to the challenge. Fortunately for them, though, they didn't have to kill off the entire four minutes when Rust drew a holding penalty on Oesterle at 17:34.
Prior to the game, much of the talk centered around Arizona's top-ranked penalty killing unit, which has scored nine shorthanded goals already this season. But the Penguins were better on Saturday, killing all four Coyotes' power plays.
THE OTHER SIDE
Rick Tocchet's team has been a bit of a pleasant surprise this season. But now the harsh reality of the season is starting to set in.
After losing in Philadelphia and now Pittsburgh, the Coyotes have fallen back to .500 at 7-7-1 and will have a short turnaround to face the defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals late Sunday afternoon.
With starting goalie Antti Raanta missing his third straight game with an upper body injury, the Coyotes have turned to Kuemper, who has now allowed four-plus goals in each of his three starts.
"I had a good start and then they scored three in the second there," Kuemper said. "That was kind of too big of a hole to come back. I don't think anyone's happy, for sure. But we just have to make sure we're not getting overly frustrated. Kind of use it as motivation to get back out there and have our best game in a while."
While the goaltending wasn't great for Arizona, the problem was their inability to score ... and Crosby.
"DeSmith made some good plays and, obviously, Sidney Crosby is Sidney Crosby," Tocchet said. "He was the difference maker. He dominated tonight, and we didn't have an answer."
It was the third time the Coyotes have been shut out this season but the first in 11 games.
THE INJURIES
• Penguins: Derick Brassard, forward, missed his seventh straight game with a lower-body injury. He resumed skating on Friday and is expected to take the ice later Saturday. Justin Schultz, defenseman, is expected to miss four months after fracturing his leg Oct. 13 in Montreal.
• Coyotes: Jakob Chychrun, defenseman, was out and is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Christian Dvorak, forward, was out with an upper-body injury. Raanta, goalie, was out and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins have a scheduled off day on Sunday and return to practice at 11 a.m. on Monday in Cranberry. They will face the Devils in Newark on Tuesday. DK and Matt Sunday will have the coverage from North Jersey.
THE COVERAGE
Visit our Penguins team page for everything.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins vs. Coyotes, PPG Paints Arena, Nov. 10, 2018 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS