How a single shift illustrated the overall game Penguins forward Rickard Rakell offers

Rickard Rakell was directly involved in the Pittsburgh Penguins claiming a 3-2 comeback win against the rival New York Rangers on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena.

A quick glance at the scoresheet would provide confirmation of that notion, as Rakell had a secondary assist on linemate Sidney Crosby’s winning goal at 8 minutes, 40 seconds of the third period.

From the neutral zone, Rakell made a slick one-touch pass that allowed forward Jake Guentzel to gain the offensive zone before eventually setting up Crosby’s score.

In reality, Rakell might have won the game much earlier. Or at least began the victory.

Trailing 1-0, Rakell took the ice at 13:20 of the second period and composed one of the more impressive individual shifts any member of the Penguins has offered this season.

Off a puck battle, Rangers forward Filip Chytil successfully cleared a puck off his end boards but was sent into the wall, backside first, via an aggressive check by Rakell, eliciting a roar from what had been a mostly sedate venue to that point.

A few moments later, Penguins rookie defenseman P.O Joseph made a quick retrieval of the puck near his own left corner and immediately swatted a pass up ice as the Rangers attempted a line change.

Guentzel gained the offensive zone on the left wing, then fed a pass toward the crease. Rakell drove the slot and was held up by Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller, tumbling to the ice and prompting referee Wes McCauley to raise his left arm, then cross it with his right, signaling an interference minor for Miller at the 13:23 mark.

Only 41 seconds after that, the Penguins scored their first goal of the contest on the ensuing power-play opportunity. From the top of the left circle, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin snapped a wrister to the far side for his 11th goal. On the sequence, Rakell provided a moving screen to obscure the vision of Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin.

One shift.

One minute, 4 seconds in length.

One hit.

One penalty drawn.

One screen.

And one badly needed course correction for the Penguins, who had been mostly sluggish until that juncture of the evening.

“You need those momentum shifts,” Crosby said Wednesday in Cranberry. “Especially last night, we didn’t have a lot going. That was a big turning point in the game. That changed the whole game basically.”

Rakell admitted the hit on Chytil was generated through some selfish motivation. Earlier in the period at 8:06, he absorbed a big hit from Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba.

“I just think I saw an opportunity to throw a hit,” Rakell said. “I got rocked pretty hard before that. I just thought I needed to do something in this game. I’m just happy that we got the penalty and got the power play and managed to score a goal.”

Rakell’s most prominent traits are his abilities to generate goals. He has reached the 20-goal mark four times in his career, including a career-best 34 with the Anaheim Ducks in 2017-18.

That offensive acumen largely overshadows what he can offer in other areas of the game such as being a physical force or a stout defender.

“It’s hard to not notice his hands and his ability with the puck,” Crosby said. “But all those little things go into winning. They’re important parts of the game. He knows that. He takes those things seriously. You see a little thing like that — a couple of examples of that — changes the whole game.”

Rakell is seemingly on his way to another 20-goal season — if not more — in 2022-23. In 32 games, he has 13 goals and nine assists while stationed on the top line as well as the top power-play unit.

That production as well as the other contributions Rakell can offer are more prevalent this season compared to his brief stint with the Penguins last season after being acquired at the trade deadline in March. There’s also a greater level of familiarity with the franchise as well as life off the ice compared to when he joined the Penguins in the midst of the final stretch of the regular season.

“System wise, (he knows) all the calls out there, faceoffs, whatever,” said defenseman Marcus Pettersson, a fellow Swede who is one of Rakell’s closest friends. “And just having his family out here, he’s getting comfortable. It shows.”

It was especially vivid for 64 seconds on Tuesday.

“I can still contribute to the team when the offense isn’t coming all the time,” Rakell said. “I’m just trying to help the team in any way that I can. That was a good time to change things up.”