Ben Kindel beats the Senators' Linus Ullmark to end the shootout Thursday night in Ottawa.
"Every game feels like a must-win," Erik Karlsson would tell me Thursday night of the Penguins' predicament. "You win, you're in. You lose one? You're out."
He's not wrong. After the way things played out elsewhere in the Eastern Conference playoff race on Thursday, a win here at Canadian Tire Centre against the Senators would have moved the Penguins from third to second in the Metropolitan Division standings. A regulation loss would have knocked them out of a playoff spot entirely, falling even out of the wild card race. And with the number of teams in the hunt and the limited number of games remaining, that could have been a hole too deep to crawl out from.
The final: A 4-3 shootout win, one that required overcoming all kinds of of adversity along the way.
The Senators dictated much of the first period, though they only had a Drake Batherson power-play goal to show for it. Rickard Rakell erased Ottawa's lead late in the frame with a snap shot from the slot set up by Karlsson, and momentum looked to be swinging in the Penguins' direction until a new injury to Sidney Crosby that could have easily been the end of the game for the Penguins, already hurting with Evgeni Malkin out.
Crosby left late in the first period after getting his left leg tangled up with Dylan Cozens, and attempted to come back for the second period but left after taking the opening shift. And instead of rolling over and dying, the Penguins almost seemed to get a jolt by losing their captain.
"Everybody hates seeing that happen," Rakell told me. "But at the same time, we've got to keep playing."
Nick Cousins gave the Senators a lead 1:50 into the second after an inopportune bounce -- Sam Girard broke up an intended pass, but the puck deflected off his skate right back to Cousins, who had an open net in front of him to tap it into.
The Swedes certainly kept playing. Rakell returned the favor from his earlier goal and set up Karlsson for a goal of his own two minutes later. The Penguins peppered Linus Ullmark with 16 shots that period, while tightening up defensively and limiting the Senators to just six. Then, to open the third, Karlsson found Rakell on a five-on-three power-play to retake the lead.
Batherson scored to tie the game in a goal that arguably could have been goaltender interference, but wasn't overturned after a challenge based on the NHL's subjective definition of what it means to affect Skinner's "ability to play his position." The failed challenge kept the game tied, and put the Penguins on the penalty-kill. They killed off the two minutes, and took the game to overtime.
The scoreless extra frame had the game decided in the dreaded shootout -- with the Penguins in better spirits about their chances after their win over the Jets only days before, but still having some demons needing exorcised after starting the season 2-10 in shootouts. Skinner stopped two of three shots faced, while Egor Chinakhov and Ben Kindel scored to seal the win and the much-needed extra point.
It was a win against a team and a goaltender who had given them trouble -- they had lost their previous five meetings with the Senators, and were 0-8 all-time against Ullmark. They needed to do it without their captain, dealing with tough bounces, a call not going their way, and a facet of the game in the shootout that had given them trouble for most of the season. But with the stakes being at their highest yet, they pulled out a win against a team that could potentially be battling for the same wild card spots down the stretch.
"It meant a lot," Rakell said. "It was a lot of emotions. This game felt like it was a really tight game from the start of it. It was a battle, a great effort from everybody throughout the lineup. Stu had a great game. This was huge for us."
Skinner echoed a similar sentiment about the feel of this one.
"It was massive," Skinner said. "I thought it was a playoff-style game. I mean, Ottawa needs the points. We need the points. It's so tight in the East, so being able to get these two points is massive."
This might have been the most important win of the season so far. But there are 10 games remaining on the schedule. The Islanders and Blue Jackets are both a point behind the Penguins. The Atlantic teams in the wild card race make it even tighter, with the Bruins, Senators and Red Wings having the potential to keep the Penguins out of a spot of they fall out of the top three in the Metro:
NHL.COM
Every game that remains is going to be the new biggest game of the season.
"The games are going to be like this, probably, for the last stretch here," Rakell said. "Everybody wants to get in. I mean, we want it so bad, so we've got to do everything we can to win."
The Penguins are going to face more adversity over these next 10 games -- and beyond, if they're able to clinch a spot. They're going to need more performances like this one, where they battle through those challenges anyway.
"I thought the group elevated," Dan Muse said of his team. "This time of year, you've just got to dig in and find a way. The third period, overtime, shootout, that's what the guys did. Credit to them, the way they came into this game."
THE ASYLUM
Short-handed Penguins 'dig in' for pivotal points
GETTY
Ben Kindel beats the Senators' Linus Ullmark to end the shootout Thursday night in Ottawa.
"Every game feels like a must-win," Erik Karlsson would tell me Thursday night of the Penguins' predicament. "You win, you're in. You lose one? You're out."
He's not wrong. After the way things played out elsewhere in the Eastern Conference playoff race on Thursday, a win here at Canadian Tire Centre against the Senators would have moved the Penguins from third to second in the Metropolitan Division standings. A regulation loss would have knocked them out of a playoff spot entirely, falling even out of the wild card race. And with the number of teams in the hunt and the limited number of games remaining, that could have been a hole too deep to crawl out from.
The final: A 4-3 shootout win, one that required overcoming all kinds of of adversity along the way.
The Senators dictated much of the first period, though they only had a Drake Batherson power-play goal to show for it. Rickard Rakell erased Ottawa's lead late in the frame with a snap shot from the slot set up by Karlsson, and momentum looked to be swinging in the Penguins' direction until a new injury to Sidney Crosby that could have easily been the end of the game for the Penguins, already hurting with Evgeni Malkin out.
Crosby left late in the first period after getting his left leg tangled up with Dylan Cozens, and attempted to come back for the second period but left after taking the opening shift. And instead of rolling over and dying, the Penguins almost seemed to get a jolt by losing their captain.
"Everybody hates seeing that happen," Rakell told me. "But at the same time, we've got to keep playing."
Nick Cousins gave the Senators a lead 1:50 into the second after an inopportune bounce -- Sam Girard broke up an intended pass, but the puck deflected off his skate right back to Cousins, who had an open net in front of him to tap it into.
The Swedes certainly kept playing. Rakell returned the favor from his earlier goal and set up Karlsson for a goal of his own two minutes later. The Penguins peppered Linus Ullmark with 16 shots that period, while tightening up defensively and limiting the Senators to just six. Then, to open the third, Karlsson found Rakell on a five-on-three power-play to retake the lead.
Batherson scored to tie the game in a goal that arguably could have been goaltender interference, but wasn't overturned after a challenge based on the NHL's subjective definition of what it means to affect Skinner's "ability to play his position." The failed challenge kept the game tied, and put the Penguins on the penalty-kill. They killed off the two minutes, and took the game to overtime.
The scoreless extra frame had the game decided in the dreaded shootout -- with the Penguins in better spirits about their chances after their win over the Jets only days before, but still having some demons needing exorcised after starting the season 2-10 in shootouts. Skinner stopped two of three shots faced, while Egor Chinakhov and Ben Kindel scored to seal the win and the much-needed extra point.
It was a win against a team and a goaltender who had given them trouble -- they had lost their previous five meetings with the Senators, and were 0-8 all-time against Ullmark. They needed to do it without their captain, dealing with tough bounces, a call not going their way, and a facet of the game in the shootout that had given them trouble for most of the season. But with the stakes being at their highest yet, they pulled out a win against a team that could potentially be battling for the same wild card spots down the stretch.
"It meant a lot," Rakell said. "It was a lot of emotions. This game felt like it was a really tight game from the start of it. It was a battle, a great effort from everybody throughout the lineup. Stu had a great game. This was huge for us."
Skinner echoed a similar sentiment about the feel of this one.
"It was massive," Skinner said. "I thought it was a playoff-style game. I mean, Ottawa needs the points. We need the points. It's so tight in the East, so being able to get these two points is massive."
This might have been the most important win of the season so far. But there are 10 games remaining on the schedule. The Islanders and Blue Jackets are both a point behind the Penguins. The Atlantic teams in the wild card race make it even tighter, with the Bruins, Senators and Red Wings having the potential to keep the Penguins out of a spot of they fall out of the top three in the Metro:
NHL.COM
Every game that remains is going to be the new biggest game of the season.
"The games are going to be like this, probably, for the last stretch here," Rakell said. "Everybody wants to get in. I mean, we want it so bad, so we've got to do everything we can to win."
The Penguins are going to face more adversity over these next 10 games -- and beyond, if they're able to clinch a spot. They're going to need more performances like this one, where they battle through those challenges anyway.
"I thought the group elevated," Dan Muse said of his team. "This time of year, you've just got to dig in and find a way. The third period, overtime, shootout, that's what the guys did. Credit to them, the way they came into this game."
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