Penguins rally past Devils, move within striking distance of playoff spot

NEWARK, N.J. -- The Penguins' climb to a playoff position seemed insurmountable for a long time. 

Blame the power play, blown leads, lost points in overtime, a lack of depth scoring, whatever. Through it all, the Penguins had managed to dig themselves in a hole that seemed too deep to overcome.

But after the Penguins' massive, come-from-behind 6-3 victory over the Devils here at the Prudential Center on Tuesday night, this is the closest the Penguins have been to a playoff position in months. They're just three points back of the Capitals for the final wild card position, and can close that gap to a single point with a regulation win over the Capitals on Thursday. Getting into the postseason as one of the top three teams in the Metropolitan Division is still very much in reach too, now four points behind the Flyers with a game in hand.

This might actually happen. The Penguins might actually be a playoff team.

Earning five of six points through the first three games of this road trip is impressive. The opening game against the Blue Jackets was forgettable, blowing a two-goal lead in the third period. But then with a depleted lineup that's been dealing with a bug making its way around the locker room, the Penguins handed the league-leading Rangers a 5-2 loss.

For a number of reasons, the win Tuesday night in New Jersey is the most impressive game they've had as of late, and perhaps one of the most impressive wins to date all season. It wasn't a clear blowout victory in which they dominated for a full 60 minutes. But it was a character win, one that showed that the Penguins really do have the resilience to push their way into the playoffs, and maybe even make a run if they get in.

The Penguins didn't have a great first 40 minutes in this one. Erik Karlsson got the Penguins on the board 7:54 into the first period with a shot that pinballed off two Devils players and redirected into Jake Allen's net, then a Timo Meier one-timer on the power play hit Marcus Pettersson and deflected past Alex Nedeljkovic. The Devils extended their lead to 3-1, first when Curtis Lazar drove to the net and roofed the puck over Nedeljkovic's shoulder, and then when Jesper Bratt flew in on a breakaway and snuck the puck past Nedeljkovic's blocker.

A two-goal deficit entering the third period isn't insurmountable -- as some of the Penguins' opponents over the course of the season could attest. But the Penguins looked beat. They were being outshot 21-12. They had a single power play through the first 40 minutes that looked lifeless. After playing tight defensively and limiting odd-man breaks, the Penguins were allowing a series of chances off the rush against a team that can be pretty dangerous off the rush, including some odd-man rushes. Nedeljkovic was being tested early and often.

And if the Penguins were spent, it wouldn't be hard to see why. There's an illness sweeping through the team, sidelining Tristan Jarry and John Ludvig for the past two games, knocking Michael Bunting out of the game in the first stop of this road trip in Columbus, and affecting multiple players who are still managing to play through it. The Penguins were on the second half of a back-to-back after a hard-fought win over the Rangers, too. 

"We could tell early on that we didn't have a lot of energy," Mike Sullivan said. "We just didn't have a lot of juice tonight, it was one of those nights where sometimes you play against the schedule. That game last night in New York took a lot out of our guys. Give our players a lot of credit, we hung in there and we dug in."

The Penguins had another lackluster power play early in the third period, but then the script flipped with their second man advantage of the frame. Sidney Crosby went to the net and finished a feed from Bryan Rust on the power play, cutting the Devils' lead to one goal:

Just 67 seconds later, the game was tied. A blast from the blue line courtesy of Jack St. Ivany hit Evgeni Malkin's leg and deflected in, earning the Penguins' rookie defenseman his first NHL point on the assist:

The Penguins padded that lead with another pair of quick goals later in the third. First, Rickard Rakell deflected a Marcus Pettersson pass:

... then 22 seconds later, Malkin went to the net and got his second goal of the evening:

Crosby scored on the empty net with just under three minutes remaining to make it a 6-3 win, capping off a five-goal third period.

"We get a fairly early goal on the power play there in the third," Karlsson told me about what changed in the third. "That kind of got us going, and we found ways to get the puck in the net. Guys were trying to play with as much energy as possible. It's a nice win to come from behind tonight, because we definitely didn't feel our best."

The message Sullivan gave to the players at second intermission was that just one goal keeps the game in "striking distance" and gives the team a chance to win. When Crosby got that goal on the power play, it gave the team life and the bench got some energy.

Crosby said that it was "just desperation" that gave the Penguins the momentum they needed to start the rally.

"We knew it was going to be an uphill climb," Crosby said. "It's good to get one on the power play, (Karlsson) made a great play to keep that play alive and give us a chance. Just putting pucks to the net, Geno comes up with a huge tip, and then Rakell and Geno again. We really got a lot of momentum there and built off it."

And hey, credit to Nedeljkovic, too. This game could have gotten out of hand in the first two periods had he not been dialed in. He started on back-to-back nights, having stopped 28 shots Monday in New York when planned starter Jarry had to miss the game due to illness. When Jarry still wasn't ready to go Tuesday, the Penguins recalled rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to at least back up, but still turned to Nedeljkovic to start. He stopped 23 of 26 shots faced, and the goals he did allow weren't softies by any means.

"He's a fierce competitor," Sullivan said of Nedeljkovic. "I've said that on a number of occasions, he just battles. Tonight was no different, he made some timely saves for us. We got outplayed the first two periods, and he made some big saves for us."

The Penguins have a 4-0-1 record in their last five games -- that's nine of 10 points earned in the standings. They beat some pretty tough teams in that stretch -- the Hurricanes, Rangers and now the Devils -- and clawed back within striking distance of a playoff spot. 

The analytics website MoneyPuck does playoff odds every year, using a system that takes into account the strength of schedule remaining -- opponents, home vs. away, which teams are rested, among others. Before this last five-game run, the Penguins' odds to make the playoffs were calculated at 1.7%. The odds have been creeping up with each game, and now sit at 15.2%:

Sullivan and the Penguins players have been reiterating their belief that the team is capable of making the playoffs this whole time. It didn't matter how bad things got, they said thought they could come back from it. Maybe those beliefs weren't quite so strong during the bigger lulls of the season, but they were there. And now that the Penguins have nearly closed the gap, they believe they can keep going and get in.

"It feels good to get rewarded for winning hockey games," Rakell said of the Penguins' situation. "We've just played against two teams that we've had a tough go against on away ice in the past, and to get these two wins is huge for us. Now we have to keep it going."

They're actually playing some really meaningful hockey games now, and likely will through the end of the regular-season. 

"We put ourselves in this situation," Karlsson told me. "And we know we have an uphill battle. But at the same time, we've been in it the whole time, even though we haven't found a way to play our best hockey. Now, hopefully, we can find that right now. Now's the time that it matters. So hopefully, we can take care of our business and hope we get some luck with some other teams along the way."

And if the Penguins do manage to keep playing like this and make it into the postseason, who knows what could happen? It's not uncommon for a team that had to battle and fight their way in late to be able to make a run, given that they got a head start on playing for their lives, and are often playing against a team that didn't have to play really meaningful games for quite some time as the regular-season wound down.

"We haven't played to the potential that we want in here for the most part of this year," Karlsson said. "Hopefully, we can string something together here towards the end and squeak in. Then, you never know."

You never know.