Undermanned, understaffed Penguins top Flyers in overtime

On Wednesday afternoon, Mike Sullivan appeared defeated.

When speaking with reporters, the typically resolute head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins looked as if the latest round of his players who had tested positive for covid-19 — franchise center Sidney Crosby and bedrock defenseman Brian Dumoulin — had deflated him.

With their absences being coupled with steady defensemen Marcus Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel being placed in isolation Sunday, Sullivan had a despondent tone.

“It’s tough,” Sullivan said. “I’m not going to lie. We are trying to do all the right things.”

By Thursday afternoon, things continued to go wrong when the team announced Sullivan was not available for a home contest against the rival Philadelphia Flyers after he tested positive for covid-19.

The Penguins’ message entering Thursday’s contest was no different than what their head coach would typically offer.

“We’re not going away easy,” said assistant coach Todd Reirden, who has assumed Sullivan’s duties for the time being. “Despite what we’re going through, we’re here to gather two points and be done with our losing streak.”

The Penguins did just that by putting forth a disciplined and determined effort that led to a badly needed 3-2 triumph in overtime at PPG Paints Arena. An overtime goal by defenseman Kris Letang snapped a season-worst three-game losing streak.

“When guys go down, we’re having guys step up,” forward Jake Guentzel said. “It didn’t stop with the coaches today. Just an overall good effort for the night.”

That effort was evident all of 16 seconds into regulation when Penguins claimed a lead. From the right corner of the offensive zone, Penguins forward Brock McGinn banked a rim pass along the end boards to the left point. Defenseman Mike Matheson claimed the puck in front of the Flyers bench and immediately shuffled a wrister toward the cage. From the front of the crease, McGinn redirected the puck under goaltender Carter Hart’s glove on the far side for his third goal this season.

“Obviously, scoring on the first shift was huge for us,” Reirden said. “To me, that was a great message.”

The Penguins stayed true to that message until the second period when the Flyers converted on a power play at 7:37 of the middle frame.

Taking a pass low to the left of the Penguins’ cage, Flyers forward Travis Konecny spun back-first to his right and lifted a wrister over the right shoulder of goaltender Tristan Jarry, who was hugging the near post but not nearly enough. It was Konecny’s fourth goal.

The Penguins responded at 11:46 of the second with a rare bit of good fortune, especially as of late.

Gaining the offensive zone on the left wing, Guentzel fanned on a shot but quickly regained the puck. With ex-Flyers forward Jeff Carter hounding Hart above the crease, Guentzel chucked a shot from the left circle that beat Hart’s left skate on the far side. It was Guentzel’s second goal of the season and first since Oct. 14.

“Kind of a fluky goal,” Guentzel admitted. “When you go on those (goalless) streaks, it’s the one it takes to find the back of the net there. So it definitely felt nice. Hopefully, they can keep coming now.”

The Flyers kept coming and tied things late in regulation at the 17:08 mark of the third period.

After Matheson fanned on a pass attempt behind his own net, Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk swooped in on the loose puck and fed a pass to the front of the net. A backchecking Carter partially deflected the puck, causing it to slide to the inside of the left circle, where Flyers forward Scott Laughton clapped a one-timer past Jarry’s glove on the far side for his third goal.

Letang, who had just been activated from the NHL list for covid-19 protocol on Thursday afternoon after missing four games due to the virus, scored his first goal of the season 1:54 into overtime.

Collecting a loose puck behind the Flyers’ net, Letang swooped to the right of the cage and shuffled a backhanded wraparound shot. Hart appeared to make the save initially, but Letang’s follow-through guided the puck into the cage for a moment before Hart’s left leg pulled it back out. Play was halted as a scrum ensued.

“I knew it was close,” Letang said. “I didn’t know 100% if the puck crossed the entire goal line. I knew it was close. In the scrum, I told the referee right away. I said, ‘You should check it.’”

Officials did consult video review and confirmed the goal.

Jarry was stout in the victory, making 36 saves on 38 shots to boost his record to 4-2-1.

As for the Penguins, they’re just grateful they were able to boost their spirits after a trying handful of days.

“Really happy with our response from our team to be able to gather that (regulation) point, not give in while the opposition is pushing pretty hard there and then ultimately get our second (overtime) point there,” Reirden said. “Going through the adversity that we’ve gone through and being able to come out of it that way … I was really proud of with the way we handled it.”