PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Quite a night at PPG Paints Arena as the Pens come back to win 5-4 in overtime on the night Sidney Crosby scored his 500th goal. Once in last, the Pens are in first place in the Metropolitan Division and it's the Flyers in last.
Defenseman Kris Letang grabs a turnover on the first shift of overtime and on a two-on-one with Crosby, takes it himself and beats Flyers goalie Carter Hart for the win.
"It was just a quick turnaround," Letang said. "The defenseman was trying to take away Sid, so I was trying to fool the goalie by looking at him the entire time and try to slip the puck five-hole."
Quick strike
It appeared bleak in the third period before Jake Guentzel pounds home a rebound off a Letang shot to make it 4-3 at 12:36.
Sixteen seconds later, Chad Ruhwedel takes a chance, skates in and Danton Heinen finds him in front of the net, the 31-year-old defenseman buries his first of the year and eighth of his career to tie the game. It's Ruhwedel's first goal since December 20, 2019 against Edmonton.
"He's be unbelievable," Letang said. "For us, the last many years he's been an awesome guy in the locker room. He's a guy that brings a great attitude every day. He works his (butt) off every single practice."
"To be honest, I can't be happier for him. It's awesome he gets a big goal like this on a special night. He's been in-and-out of the lineup the last couple of years. This year he has the chance to prove that he can play big minutes, play on the PK, play an important role. I think everyone is really happy for him."
2nd period
The Pens had 18 shots in the second period, not only did they not score. They have up three goals.
"I think in the second period, the first 12 minutes or so, we had extended offensive zone time," Sullivan said. "Sometimes when you have extended zone time like that. If you aren't careful, you can lose the defensive conscience."
Scott Laughton scored under a minute into the second period and then Nick Seeler with his first of the season midway through the period to give Philadelphia the lead.
"We have to be able to play with the puck in a responsible way," Sullivan said. "There might have been some instances where we got a little careless with our possession time. When you do, you give up an opportunity and give Philly credit, they were able to convert."
Flyers would add a third goal of the second period. A shot by defenseman Justin Braun as it hit the right pad of Casey DeSmith, deflects forward off of Pens defenseman Marcus Pettersson in front of the net and in for a 4-2 lead.
"It was an emotional game for a lot of reasons," Sullivan said. "I give our players a lot of credit for just trying to stay with it and hitting the reset button. Staying with the game plan and finding a way to win."
DeSmith in net
Sullivan said before the game Casey DeSmith's last couple of starts had been really strong and he wanted to give him another opportunity. The Pens head coach said after the game that sometimes the amount of goals you give up, four, compared to the amount of shots, 27, doesn't tell the whole story. He believes with the types of chances Philly had, DeSmith was better than the stats, especially in the third period.
"I thought Casey was good," Sullivan said. "I thought he was solid. He had a couple of big saves in the third period. The one on their power play was a big save for us. That's the type of save you need to have to give your team a chance to win."
Near injuries
A couple of key players, especially on the penalty kill seemed to have escaped injuries.
Brian Dumoulin hit in the face by a puck in the first period, quickly went off the ice, but as quick to return and played the rest of the game.
In the third, Brock McGinn blocking a Flyers shot with an open hand appeared to suffer a finger or hand injury. He would skate quickly to the locker room as well, but also return to the ice.
"He's tough," Sullivan said. "He's just a gritty player. He wants to win. It doesn't surprise me he came back, he's that type of a player. That's what we knew what we were getting when we got him."
"His willingness to put himself in harm's way to block shots, it's an essential part of killing penalties. It's hard to be a good penalty kill if you don't have guys that are willing, he certainly is."
Up Next
Pens are on the road Thursday at Toronto before three straight games at home starting Sunday afternoon against Carolina.
