For the third consecutive game, the Pittsburgh Penguins were pretty steeply outshot by their opposition.
And for the third consecutive game, they found a way to come out on top.
The Penguins defeated the St. Louis Blues by a narrow margin, 5-3, for their third consecutive win against a pretty formidable Western opponent. St. Louis came into this game 7-1-2 in their last 10 games and just two points out of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
After a slow start in the first period - and a good start from the Blues - the Penguins came out for the final 40 minutes and played some pretty solid hockey despite several momentum swings. They were also opportunistic on their scoring chances.
And there were a whole lot of "first goals" for Penguins players as well.
Just over two minutes into the game, defenseman Ryan Graves - who has played in 47 games this season - finally registered his first goal of the season.
Defenseman and newcomer Conor Timmins did a similar thing in the second period, firing a shot past Binnington from the right circle to score his first goal as a Penguin just two minutes and 20 seconds into the middle frame. Blues forward Zack Bolduc scored a power play goal midway through the period to make it 2-1.
However, another Penguins' newcomer, forward Connor Dewar - acquired in the same trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs that brought Timmins to Pittsburgh on Mar. 7 - scored his first goal as a Penguin and his first goal of the 2024-25 season with less than three minutes on the clock in the second period to put the Penguins back on top, 3-1.
Then, Kris Letang took a cross-checking penalty in the waning seconds of the period, which ended up carrying over into the third. The Blues capitalized on their power play yet again - this time getting a goal from Dylan Holloway - to make it 3-2, before Bryan Rust tipped a Rickard Rakell shot to give the Penguins back the 4-2 lead.
The goal was originally credited to Rakell as his 30th of the season, but it was later changed to Rust's.
But the Blues struck back yet again. Alexey Toropchenko registered his third goal of the season after carrying the puck up ice almost 200 feet and skating through everyone for his own breakaway chance.
They were pressuring late, but this time, Rakell notched his 30th goal for good off a feed from Sidney Crosby and on an empty net with 7.1 seconds remaining to give the Penguins the 5-3 win.
Even though the Penguins have been outplayed for stretches during the last three games, they're happy with where their game is at.
"We're competing hard," Graves said. "I think that we're continuously trying to improve and just show a lot of character."
Rakell pointed to the team's leadership as the reason the winning culture and a certain standard of excellence hasn't faded from the room.
"Our leaders in this room lead the way," Rakell said. "It doesn't work here to just not go all the way and just play hard until the finish line."
Here are a few other thoughts and observations from this 5-3 win:
- I really like Timmins' game so far. He plays a low-event, simplistic style of hockey, and it's almost calming watching him handle the puck and position himself defensively.
And he also has the ability to get the puck to the net quickly and decisively. He rifled a shot from the right circle past Binnington for his first as a Penguin, buying everyone Big Macs in the process:
He's providing a defensive conscience to the blue line that has not been present for much of the season, even if he's only doing it in third-pairing minutes. Lots of details in his game.
I'd really like to see him paired with one of the Penguins' younger, more offensive-minded defensemen next season, assuming he is tendered an offer as a RFA. He is a steady presence on the Penguins' blue line with a tidbit of offensive upside himself.
- That pass by Lizotte to find Dewar backdoor was a thing of beauty.
I realize the third and fourth lines are a wash at this point with the players remaining on this roster. And Karlsson made that play happen in the first place. But Lizotte has shown he is capable of more offensively in a third-line center role this season, and I'm not sure why he was ever moved out of that position in the first place.
Given the Penguins' situation, it's unlikely that Lizotte will have too many chances to play with more offensive-minded players as a third-line center for the rest of the season. However, it's something I'd like to see more of in 2025-26, as I think he and Tommy Novak could make for a pretty good combination.
In any case, the third line was very, very good against the Blues. And Lizotte had two assists.
- I was just getting ready to write that Rakell was "snakebitten" at 29 goals. He had gone three games without a goal, and he was playing like a player who was snakebitten, whiffing on scoring chances and gripping his stick a bit too tight.
Well, he is snakebitten no more.
"I love scoring goals," Rakell said. "Especially with the win tonight, it feels extra good."
He said it himself: this guy loves to score goals. And with 14 games remaining, he needs four goals to tie his career-high of 34 set in 2017-18 with the Anaheim Ducks.
I think he's going to do it. What a season it has been for him.
- Good for Graves to finally net one this season. If you're keeping track, he now has two points in his last five games - which accounts for his only two points of the season.
It has been another challenging season for Graves, who has been in and out of the press box despite - generally speaking - playing a bit better in sheltered minutes this year. But it's nice to see him finally getting on the board.
In fact, that was one of the happiest goal celebrations I've seen all season from the Penguins, OT goals and milestone tallies aside.
- If you're still keeping track, the Penguins are now just six points out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Realistically, the playoffs are a pipe dream. Every team ahead of the Penguins in the standings has games in hand on them, and all of them would have to lose a whole lot in order to even make headway for the Penguins to get back into the race.
But never say never. The Penguins were in almost this exact spot last season when they went on an 8-1-3 run to make things close and, ultimately, miss the playoffs by three points.
Again, it's highly unlikely. And, frankly, the Penguins are probably better off finishing with a bottom-six pick this season.
Here's the thing, though, and I'm going to keep saying it: You simply cannot tell NHL players - competing at the highest level of hockey - that they need to lose hockey games.
Crosby - now just eight points away from clinching an NHL record-20th consecutive point-per-game season with two assists on the night - is the sport's ultimate competitor and winner. Goaltender Tristan Jarry - who earned his third straight win and was solid yet again - is probably playing for his NHL career.
Tell those guys to lose. That won't go over well.
Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
