UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- There was, Kris Letang volunteered, a measure of good fortune in his game-winning goal.
A pretty large one, really.
If Letang's shot from the right side of the slot hadn't caromed off the stick of the Islanders' Jean-Gabriel Pageau, perhaps the puck wouldn't have eluded goalie Semyon Varlamov with 26 seconds to go in overtime, giving the Penguins a 4-3 victory at Nassau Coliseum Saturday night.
Perhaps the game would have had to be settled by a shootout.
Or maybe none of that would have mattered, because when the Penguins are compelled to play past the third period in 2020-21, the details might change, but the ultimate result is pretty consistent. They've won 11 of their first 19 games this season; four of those victories have come in their five games that ended in overtime, and the Penguins are even more lethal in shootouts, going 3-0.
With a third of the season gone, they're on pace to squeeze only about a dozen regulation victories out of their 56-game schedule -- their current total of four is tied for second-fewest in the NHL -- but when games reach overtime, the Penguins routinely find a way to claim the second point that's available.
Which is a big part of the reason that they are 11-7-1 and tied for the final playoff spot in the East Division despite also being tied with the last-place Sabres for the fewest regulation victories in the division.
Scoring a goal obviously is necessary to win a game in overtime, but a commitment to responsible defense is imperative when there is so much open ice and the other team likely is deploying a rotation of its most skilled players. And possessing the puck as much as possible is critical, in part because having it allows a team to get fresh players on the ice while sometime preventing the other club from making a switch.
The Penguins have been exceptionally effective at all of that, and their overtime record shows it.
"They're committed to play on the defensive side when we don't have the puck, but I think they've done a real good job with the puck," Mike Sullivan said. "So much of the overtime is about possession, and there are a lot of different things that enter into that. Details like shot selection, where you choose to shoot the puck from, then having the ability to try to out-change teams and maybe catch a team where you can keep them on the ice and maybe take advantage of a fatigue factor. Our players are getting the job done. They're committed to playing the game a certain way in overtime and we've had success as a result."
While it's possible that the Penguins lost a point or two in Washington Thursday because of an equipment issue -- Letang had a couple of sticks break at inopportune moments in what became a 5-2 Capitals victory -- another equipment problem might have played a significant role in their victory two nights later.
Sidney Crosby, whose line normally would have started the third period, was unavailable for the first shift then because of a skate issue. Sullivan opted to use the Jared McCann-Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust line instead, and 18 seconds after play resumed, McCann took a feed from Malkin during a two-on-one and buried a shot behind Varlamov to lift the Penguins into a 3-3 tie.
"To score a goal on the very first shift gives us some juice," Sullivan said. "We got some momentum out of that."
That goal put an exclamation point on a strong showing by McCann, who had missed the previous six games because of an unspecified injury and was plugged into the hole created by an injury to Jason Zucker last Tuesday.
"As the game went on, he just got better and better," Rust said.
McCann has all of the components needed to be a productive offensive player. He skates well and has a hard shot that's made even more dangerous by a quick release. His potential has been greater than his production to this point in his career, but such a solid performance in his comeback game could be the foundation of a surge to cement his credentials as a top-six talent.
"It's something to build on," McCann said.
Sullivan, of course, would like to have McCann's goal give him an infusion of confidence.
"I hope he gets some jump from it," Sullivan said. "He should. It was a great goal."
McCann's audition for a new role seemed to go considerably better than that of Marcus Pettersson, who worked alongside Letang on the No. 1 defense pairing, a spot that P.O Joseph had been filling. Pettersson neglected to tie up New York's Brock Nelson during a power play late in the first period, allowing Nelson to deflect an Oliver Wahlstrom shot past Tristan Jarry for a 1-0 Islanders lead. In the second period, Pettersson left Josh Bailey unchecked in the slot, opting to join Crosby is challenging Nelson at the left point. Nelson slid a pass to Anthony Beauvillier, who set up Bailey for an uncontested shot from close range.
Despite those conspicuous and costly blemishes in Pettersson's performance, Letang offered lavish praise for him after the game.
"He's got a good stick, defensively, and he sees the ice really well when we're in transition," Letang said. "It was fun to play with him."
Whether that will happen again when the teams have a rematch Sunday at 5:08 p.m. isn't clear -- a case could be made that no experiment can be reasonably assessed after just one game -- but it is obvious that the Penguins need to have Letang continue to play at the level he has reached much of the time of late.
He might never play a mistake-free game, but Letang can be a force at both ends of the ice when he isn't being hamstrung by poor decision-making.
"We rely on (Letang) so much, in so many different aspects of the game," Sullivan said. "He plays the most minutes on our team, by nature of being our No. 1 defenseman. ... He plays against the other team's top players. He's the quarterback on our power play. We use him on the penalty-kill. He's just such an important player for us, and he has the ability to be an impact guy."
That was apparent when Letang tied the game, 2-2, 26 seconds after Crosby had scored, by beating Varlamov from near the right dot, and again when he ended it -- with that inadvertent assist from Pageau -- to cap a rush that began in his own end as overtime was beginning to wind down.
It also capped another victory for the Penguins in a game they trailed at the second intermission; they're 4-5-1 when that's happened in 2020-21.
Playing from behind isn't generally a formula for success against any team, but especially one like the Islanders that plays such a structured, solid game.
"They play a 200-foot game that's very, very good," McCann said. "We can't really play like that -- play from behind -- a lot. It's going to bite us."
Perhaps. But maybe only if it prevents the Penguins from getting a game into overtime.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Jarry finished with 24 saves, and might be the only reason the Penguins were able to be in a position to put the game into overtime. Although Bailey was able to beat him for New York's third goal, Jarry robbed him twice, including once when Bailey got by Letang and went hard to the net while the Islanders were shorthanded.
• Sullivan praised the Islanders as a "stingy" defensive team, and added that "they've got an offensive punch that I think goes under-appreciated."
• The Penguins' power play scored a goal that might have altered the course of the game -- Crosby got it just 43 seconds after Mat Barzal had staked New York to a 2-0 lead early in the second period -- but had another generally lackluster showing, going 1 for 5 with a total of seven shots. Nelson got his goal on New York's only try with the man-advantage.
• McCann, who controlled the only faceoff he took, was the only Penguins player with a winning record on draws. New York finished with a 33-21 advantage on those.
• With Mark Jankowski unavailable because of an unspecified upper-body injury, the Penguins deployed a new-look fourth line that had Sam Lafferty between Anthony Angello and Colton Sceviour. Angello, who made his 2020-21 debut, recorded a team-high five hits, despite logging just 9:07 of ice time. "He brings us some size (6 feet 5, 210 pounds)," Sullivan said. "He can skate. He has a physical dimension to his game. He plays a simple, reliable, trustworthy game. ... I thought he had some good minutes for us."
THE ESSENTIALS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at Nassau Coliseum:
1. Kris Letang, Penguins
2. Sidney Crosby, Penguins
3. Brock Nelson, Islanders
THE INJURIES
• Defenseman Juuso Riikola, out with an unspecified upper-body injury suffered Jan. 19, has resumed practicing.
• Forward Evan Rodrigues, out since suffering an unspecified lower-body injury Jan. 25, has resumed skating.
• Defenseman Brian Dumoulin, sidelined \since suffering an unspecified lower-body injury Jan. 26, has resumed skating.
• Winger Jason Zucker is sidelined indefinitely with an unspecified lower-body injury sustained Feb. 23.
• Center Mark Jankowski did not play Saturday because of an unspecified upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Kasperi Kapanen
Jared McCann-Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust
Zach Aston-Reese-Teddy Blueger-Brandon Tanev
Colton Sceviour-Sam Lafferty-Anthony Angello
Marcus Pettersson-Kris Letang
Mike Matheson-John Marino
P.O Joseph-Cody Ceci
And for Barry Trotz's Islanders:
Anders Lee-Mat Barzal-Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier-Brock Nelson-Josh Bailey
Michel Dal Colle-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Oliver Wahlstrom
Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Leo Komarov
Adam Pelech-Ryan Pulock
Nick Leddy-Scott Mayfield
Andy Greene-Noah Dobson
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will complete their four-game road trip with another game against the Islanders Sunday at 5:08 p.m. at the Coliseum.
THE CONTENT
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