SUNRISE, Fla. — Playing without Kris Letang and on the road against the Stanley Cup champions, the Penguins handled themselves pretty well in earning a point.
Rickard Rakell’s goal with 39 seconds remaining in the third period sent the game against the Panthers to overtime, and eventually, Florida won in a shootout, 3-2.
However, it was a strong point for the Penguins and they felt pretty satisfied with their effort.
“They’re obviously a really good team,” Bryan Rust said. “And I thought it was a very evenly played game. It could have gone either way once it went to the shootout. But I think we were good tonight.”
That was the general consensus.
The Penguins fell behind the Panthers twice but answered each time, first on Sidney Crosby’s power-play goal in the second period and again in the final seconds, when Rakell’s shot beat Spencer Knight.
Rust earned his 400th career point in his 600th career game while setting up Crosby’s goal.
This setup from Rusty 🙌 pic.twitter.com/x9JOgEVy5G
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 4, 2025
Tristan Jarry produced a solid effort, stopping 31 of 33 shots.
“I thought we played extremely hard,” Mike Sullivan said. “It was a really good hockey game. I loved our compete level down the stretch. I love the compete of this group right now. I love the intentions. We’re trying to play the game the right way. We’re not perfect but we’re competing hard and our intentions are in the right spot.”
Kevin Hayes made his return to the lineup, centering the third line.
“That’s a good team over there,” Hayes said. “Both teams had chances. Jars played great. And I thought our team just played well start to finish. You want two points, but we played well. We know how good they are and you see how they play, how physical they are. You’ve got to match that and we did.”
Ten postgame observations
• This was probably the Penguins’ best game since the holiday break. They’ve looked a bit sluggish since the four off days, but this was actually a pretty strong performance.
Granted, they weren’t able to muster any five-on-five goals, but it wasn’t for a lack of chances. And let’s consider for a moment that they were playing the Panthers. It should be noted that Florida played 24 hours earlier, that Sergei Bobrovsky was given the night off and that the defending champions haven’t been playing their best hockey recently.
Still, let’s give the Penguins some credit. They played the Panthers dead even.
The Penguins lost to the Islanders and the Red Wings in the past week, two teams they should be beating if they’re serious about competing for a playoff spot. I think getting a point in Florida at least partially makes up for those performances.
• Rust’s play to Crosby for the milestone point was a beauty.
It typifies the player that Rust has become. A decade ago, when he entered the league, Rust could really skate and could shoot the puck. He possesses almost zero playmaking qualities.
Over the years, he’s become a player who sees the ice and thinks the game at an elite level. That whirling backhand pass was a perfect example.
This was also his 600th game, and while he does get injured from time to time, I don’t believe a lack of durability is an issue for Rust. The Penguins, of course, very much need him to stay healthy moving forward.
• It’s hard to complain about anything Jarry did in this game.
Florida’s second goal was deflected in by Matthew Tkachuk, and there was absolutely nothing Jarry could do to stop it.
Chucky is ALL THAT!! pic.twitter.com/EoBbmRE3ju
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) January 4, 2025
It was a fairly high-tempo game with a number of glorious scoring opportunities for both teams. The Panthers, it goes without saying, are one of the NHL’s elite offensive teams and typically make life difficult for goaltenders because of their size.
Jarry battled hard all night and was very effective throughout. It was a good performance for him.
• It was a tough night for Evgeni Malkin, though he did make a clever play to help set up Rakell’s game-tying goal, changing the angle of the Penguins’ attack before dishing a pass to Michael Bunting, who set up Rakell.
RICKARD RAKELL TIES IT WITH 40 SECONDS TO PLAY 🐧 pic.twitter.com/Zm6VEroCSZ
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 4, 2025
Malkin had an absolutely wide-open cage in the third period, after a nifty feed from Bunting caught Knight out of position. Malkin scores on the play 99 times out of 100. But this time, he clanged a shot off the post.
He had his troubles in overtime, staying on the ice for a 90-second shift even though he had a couple of opportunities to reach the bench. Malkin didn’t have quite the burst that he’s had in recent games.
He’s been playing high-level hockey lately and I suspect he will bounce back.
• Speaking of Malkin, if the Penguins could make a wish list, they could really use another top-six winger.
It’s understandable that Sullivan would be hesitant to break up the Crosby, Rust and Rakell trio. It’s been a dominant line.
Bunting is playing better and is a good third wheel with Malkin. The Penguins, however, don’t have anyone else to play on Malkin’s wing. Cody Glass played there on Friday and, while he’s been a good defensive player for the Penguins and his advanced numbers are very good, he’s likely not a potent enough offensive player to stay on that line. Philip Tomasino, who left in the third period with a knee injury, had a wonderful first week on Malkin’s line but has since been demoted.
Who else is there? It’s a problem.
• The Penguins went 2 for 7 on the power play. Florida gave them plenty of chances and they eventually came through.
Last season, the Penguins were absolutely killed by their inability to look even functional with the man advantage. Things are going much differently at the moment. Since mid-November, the Penguins own the NHL’s best power play.
Who saw that coming?
• Owen Pickering was put in a very difficult spot. He had been out with a concussion for the past couple of weeks and made his return against one of the NHL’s most nasty teams, which is enough to get a defenseman’s attention.
Then, we must consider that he was playing on the right side, something he hasn’t done in his brief NHL career. And playing with Ryan Graves, who he hasn’t seen much time with.
“He’s 20,” Sullivan noted.
Yeah, that too.
It wasn’t a perfect outing for Pickering, who was burned a couple of times. But he wasn’t bad at all. Sullivan complimented him after the game and mentioned that he appreciates Pickering’s ability to absorb constructive criticism.
The kid is doing a nice job.
Earlier in the day, incidentally, he continued to showcase his personality. He mentioned that he’s been spending his time living at Glass’ house watching Christopher Nolan movies.
“I’ve been confused for two hours,” he said.
He doesn’t look very confused on the ice.
• The Penguins were only short-handed three times but a couple of them were very poor penalties to take.
Marcus Pettersson was called for tripping with three seconds remaining in the second period. In the third, P.O Joseph cross-checked Mackie Samoskevich after Glass had already gained possession of the puck.
That one burned the Penguins as Tkachuk scored on the ensuing power play.
You can’t take those kinds of penalties against a team as good as the Panthers.
• The Penguins really miss Letang when he’s out of the lineup, especially in a game like this. He’s the Penguins’ most sturdy defender against the forecheck, and as Sullivan noted before the game, the Panthers play dump and chase more than any team in the league.
Nonetheless, Sullivan said following the game that he believed the Penguins’ blue line handled the Florida forecheck better than it did when the teams met in Pittsburgh last month.
Letang, incidentally, skated for quite some time following the morning skate. I watched him for a while and he looked good. I wouldn’t expect him to be out of the lineup for too much longer.
• Up next for the Penguins is a 6 p.m. game on Sunday in Raleigh. Here’s a stat for you: The Penguins haven’t won against their division rival Hurricanes in Raleigh since Dec. 22, 2018.
Really.
Getting a point in Florida was no easy take, and neither will take a point from the Hurricanes. It never is for the Penguins.
That said, they’re playing a pretty respectable brand of hockey these days, a far cry from what they were doing earlier in the season.
The Penguins’ point coupled with Ottawa’s regulation loss in St. Louis has the Penguins and Senators tied for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
(Photo: Rich Storry / Imagn Images)
