DETROIT -- The Red Wings entered Friday's game as the NHL's worst team by a 13-point margin, with the worst goal differential by a difference of 39 goals.
So through 40 minutes of the Red Wings' matchup with the Penguins on Friday, it was a bit surprising to see the home team holding onto a tight 1-0 lead, with Jimmy Howard, who was winless in 12 straight starts since Oct. 29, clinging onto a shutout.
After a slow start, a couple of the Penguins' usual suspects stepped up late to pull out a 2-1 overtime win.
The Penguins came out for the third period with more energy and jump in their step, and on an early power play chance after Darren Helm was called for tripping Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust tied the game at 3:36 in the final frame of regulation:
The goal was Rust's 20th career goal, a new career-high in just his 34th game of the season.
"It's pretty cool," Rust smiled when talking about the 20-goal mark. "It's one of those milestone things that once you get closer and closer, you look at as somewhere where you want to be. I think over the past few years I've gotten close. Whether it be injuries or not being able to put a few more in the net, I haven't been able to do it. It's pretty special to be able to do it, and especially to do it here."
"Here" is Detroit, 45 minutes down I-75 from Rust's hometown of Pontiac, Mich.
"It's not easy to score 20 goals in this league," Mike Sullivan said of Rust's milestone. "Rusty's played extremely well for us. He's playing in all situations, penalty kill, on the top power play, and he's done a great job. I think his confidence is at an all-time high, as it should be. He's playing extremely well."
After being outshot 19-18 through the first 40 minutes, the Penguins outshot the Red Wings, 15-10, in the final 20 of regulation.
"I thought at the end of the second period we generated some good chances, I think we just kind of built off of that," Crosby said of the Penguins' late turnaround. "We just had to continue to push and create opportunities and trust that we'd get one. Rusty got a big one to get us going. ... We did a pretty good job in the third of sticking with it and competing. They played hard, there wasn't a lot of room."
At 1:12 of overtime, Luke Glendening interfered with Jared McCann, leading to a 4-on-3 power play for the Penguins. At the 21-second mark of the power play, Rust sent a cross-ice pass to Evgeni Malkin, who took a shot at the net. Crosby redirected the puck into the net for the win:
The overtime winner extended Crosby's goal streak to three, one in each of the games since he returned from core muscle surgery.
"It's very impressive," Sullivan said of Crosby's continued production. "It's hard for guys come back off injuries. Usually there's an adjustment process, getting used to the timing and intensity of games. Sid missed an extended amount of time. But once again, if you're asking if it surprises me, I say 'No,' because I watch his work ethic every day, and how he prepares himself to get ready to get back into the lineup. ... I just think the fact that he's been able to have the impact that he's had in the first few games is amazing."
• Andrew Agozzino was bumped off of the third line for a few shifts throughout the game, all three periods, with either Crosby or Jared McCann filling in at center in his place between Patric Hornqvist and Jared McCann. Agozzino was limited to just 5:46 of ice time all game. With the extra shifts, Crosby finished with 19:46 of ice time, the most of any of the forwards. Nearly two minutes of that came from double-shifting with the third line.
The third line as a whole with Agozzino wasn't bad at all, though. They generated nine shot attempts (mostly from Hornqvist) and only allowed one.
• While they didn't produce any goals at even strength, the second line of Dominik Kahun, Malkin, and Rust had a solid game on both sides of the puck. They only allowed four shots on goal at five-on-five all game, the fewest of any of the forward lines that stuck together all game.
"We played hard in the defensive zone, especially against their first line," Kahun told me. "It's very important, I think we did a good job."
They combined for seven shots on goal (four from Kahun and three from Malkin) at even strength, along with another two taken by defensemen when that line was on the ice.
"We created a lot, but unfortunately we didn't score those," Kahun said. "But it's important to do."
• There weren't many times when Matt Murray was tested all that much, but he had a solid performance in what is now his fourth consecutive win. He stopped all 24 shots he faced at even strength, half of which came from the far away, low-danger areas of the ice. The one goal he allowed was one of four shots faces while on the penalty kill, a five-hole shot from Filip Zadina:
Murray said he was screened on the goal, but added he "has to do a better job at finding it a little bit quicker."
He flashed the glove on Dylan Larkin in the third to keep the game tied:
"The last couple of games, I've felt like I've been getting a little better and better each time," Murray said. "I felt pretty good again out there today."
"He's seeing it," Sullivan said of Murray's play as of late. "When Matt's at his best, he makes difficult saves look routine. I think it's because of his ability to read plays. He squares up to the puck, his depth in the creases is really good. Pucks tend to hit him, or they miss the net because of his depth in the crease, whether he's in the top of the paint or middle of the paint, or he's playing deeper. He's making good reads, he's tracking the puck well, he's finding the puck through traffic, he's swallowing pucks so the next-play opportunity isn't there for our opponents."
• Howard came up big for the Red Wings, making 35 saves on 37 shots, including this overtime save on Malkin:
"I gotta make the saves," Howard said after the game. "I just haven't this year for the guys. Tonight I was able to make a couple. It was unfortunate they got the power play there in overtime but it was a solid effort in front. I was seeing pucks. I wasn't overdoing anything. To be honest, I just finally put it out of my mind and just played."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE INJURIES
• Nick Bjugstad last played on Nov. 15 before undergoing core muscle surgery. He's skating on his own.
• Brian Dumoulin last played on Nov. 30. He underwent ankle surgery to repair lacerated tendons on Dec. 1 and is expected to be out a minimum of eight weeks. He recently started walking without a boot and isn't skating yet.
• Justin Schultz last played on Dec. 17 due to a lower-body injury. He's resumed skating on his own.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jared McCann -- Sidney Crosby -- Dominik Simon
Dominik Kahun -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust
Alex Galchenyuk -- Andrew Agozzino -- Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese -- Teddy Blueger -- Brandon Tanev
Jack Johnson -- Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson -- John Marino
Juuso Riikola -- Chad Ruhwedel
And for Jeff Blashill's Red Wings:
Tyler Bertuzzi -- Dylan Larkin -- Luke Glendening
Robby Fabbri - Valtteri Filppula -- Filip Zadina
Adam Erne -- Frans Nielsen -- Darren Helm
Givani Smith -- Christoffer Ehn -- Justin Abdelkader
Patrik Nemeth -- Mike Green
Filip Hronek -- Trevor Daley
Madison Bowey -- Alex Biega
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins canceled the practice that was originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The next game is on Sunday at noon at home against the Bruins.
THE COVERAGE
Visit our team page for everything.
PHOTO GALLERY
