Penguins hold off late surge by Devils

Success in the National Hockey League is strictly based on competition, not cosmetics.

And the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 6-4 road win against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J on Friday was the optimal result the visitors could have hoped for.

It was a clean two points.

But it would not have placed in any beauty pageants.

No, this victory had plenty of warts, cysts and stretch marks.

A 10-goal game will provide plenty of highlights and inflate quite a few statistics, but it won’t sate the most discerning of coaches, including Mike Sullivan.

“We found a way to win,” the Penguins’ coach said via video conference. “But I don’t think we were at our best.”

Granted, a meeting with the New Jersey Devils, a franchise fully immersed in yet another building project, doesn’t exactly require the best effort. And the Penguins certainly did quite a bit to prove that thesis true, particularly early.

Only 3 minutes, 1 second into regulation, they gave up the contest’s first goal to Devils forward Mile Wood, his 12th of the season on a goalmouth scramble.

A power-play goal on a rebound by Penguins forward Jared McCann at 10:00 of the first period — his 11th of the season — tied the score.

Inserted into the top power-play squad March 25 because of the absences of forwards Evgeni Malkin and Kasperi Kapanen, McCann now leads the team with six goals on the man advantage, five of which came since he was promoted to that unit.

“He’s been shooting the puck really well,” Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said. “Today, he’s in and around the net, collapsing to get a rebound. He can score goals, and he’s shown that.”

The Penguins took their first lead late in the first at the 19:13 mark when defenseman Brian Dumoulin’s wrist shot from the right point of the offensive zone glanced off the right arm of Devils forward Janne Kuokkanen, bounced off the ice and deflected to the far side. It was Dumoulin’s second goal this season.

Things were tied, 2-2, 5:39 into the second period when Devils forward Jack Hughes cleaned up a rebound for his ninth goal.

A rare goal by Penguins reserve forward Colton Sceviour at 17:36 of the second period gave the Penguins another lead, 3-2. Batting a rebound of midair, Sceviour collected his third goal of the season and first since Jan. 19.

“Anytime you score in this league, it’s exciting,” Sceviour said. “When it’s been a little while, it’s even more so.”

Third period goals by forward Bryan Rust — his 15th on a power-play chance at the 4:06 mark — and Crosby — an even-strength score at the 10:02 mark — put the Penguins up by a field goal midway through the final frame.

A little persistence and quite a bit of luck by the spry, if underwhelming, Devils, made things interesting late.

First, at the 11:34 mark, Devils forward Jesper Boqvist whipped a puck out of the Penguins’ right corner to the crease that hit off of the right skate of Penguins defenseman Kris Letang and deflected into the cage for Boqvist’s second goal.

Then Wood was credited with another goal at 18:24 after Dumoulin chopped a puck off his end boards to the crease where it clunked off of goaltender Casey DeSmith’s right leg and into the cage.

An empty-net score by Rust at the 19:35 mark, snuffed out any notion of a comeback. DeSmith made 26 saves on 30 shots in a victory full of blemishes.

“We could have been better positionally, we could have been better with the decisions that we made with the puck, things of that nature,” Sullivan said. “Just details. I don’t think we were at our best (Friday).”