Erik Karlsson's OT winner gives Penguins critical victory over Red Wings

It was far from perfect.

Any time a team yields a two-goal lead in the third period, perfect isn’t even on the radar.

But it was a win.

Perhaps the most resounding triumph of 2023-24 for the Penguins.

If nothing else, it provided the most cause – or causes – to celebrate in what has been a disjointed season for Sidney Crosby, Erik Karlsson and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Thursday’s fever dream of a 6-5 overtime victory at PPG Paints Arena against the Detroit Red Wings offered just about a little bit of everything.

• Plenty of offensive flamboyance.

• Far too many defensive miscues.

• Two milestones for one of the sport’s most spellbinding talents.

• A dazzling short-handed goal by a 39-year-old.

• Rollicking emotion from 18,294 fans eager to witness meaningful hockey this spring.

• And Karlsson providing the most tangible impact he has offered all season with an overtime goal.

Most importantly, Thursday’s victory pushed the Penguins into second place of the Eastern Conference wild card standings. With a 37-30-12 record and 86 points, the Penguins jumped ahead of the Washington Capitals (37-31-11, 85 points), who suffered a 4-2 road loss to the Buffalo Sabres some three and a half hours to the north.

“Being in things right now, the way things are going, this is fun,” said Crosby, who had three points (one goal, two assists) Thursday. “This is a fun time of year. Some big games.

“Just getting a big two points and still being in it here, this is a lot of fun.”

The Red Wings (38-32-9, 85 points) remained in fourth place following the loss while the fifth-place Philadelphia Flyers (37-32-11, 85 points) kept their faint hopes alive with a 4-1 road win against the New York Rangers.

With respect to the Metropolitan Division, the New York Islanders (37-27-15, 89 points) maintained their claim on third place with a 3-2 overtime road win against the Montreal Canadiens.

Karlsson, eight months into a highly-scrutinized tenure with the Penguins, scored the winning goal and gave the Penguins only their fourth win – against nine losses – in games determined in overtime this season.

“At the end of the game like that, everybody is tired and you’re not going to be at your best,” Karlsson said. “I think that we did a good job in managing that and we capitalized when we had that opportunity.”

Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, making his 10th consecutive start, stopped 25 of 30 shots to improve his record to 17-6-7.

Since Nedeljkovic became the team’s undeclared starter in lieu of Tristan Jarry on March 24, the Penguins have earned points in all 10 games he has opened (7-0-3).

Thursday’s outing was hardly a display of hermetically sealed goaltending by either team. But the hosts got the desired result in the end even if they yielded a multi-goal lead in the third period.

“For some reason, we like to challenge ourselves a little bit more than maybe we should,” Nedeljkovic said. “But we got the extra one. That’s what counts.”

The Penguins opened the scoring 160 seconds into regulation via forward Drew O’Connor’s 15th goal of the season.

Taking the puck behind the Red Wings’ net, Penguins forward Sidney Crosby “passed” the puck off the back of the cage to himself then spun off a check from Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin. Peeking out off the end boards, Crosby tapped a forehand pass from to the lower right circle for linemate Bryan Rust, who put an immediate forehand shot on net. Goaltender Alex Lyon stopped Rust’s shot but couldn’t corral the rebound. That allowed O’Connor to crash in and mash the puck with a backhander that trickled behind Lyon’s left leg. Officials initially declined to signal a goal, but a brief video review confirmed the score. Rust and Crosby had assists.

Never a doubt ???? pic.twitter.com/j9Kzq2yy2w

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 11, 2024

Crosby’s bank off the cage to himself was seemingly as experimental as it was planned.

“Just try to be instinctive out there,” Crosby said. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Fortunately, we were able to create something off of that one. There’s times when I’ve done it and it hits a guy’s skate or I don’t do it clean and we don’t really talk about it. It’s nice that it happened there.”

Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond responded quickly with his 27th goal at 3:39 of the first period.

In the Penguins’ right circle, former Erie Otters forward Alex DeBrincat hassled Penguins defenseman Kris Letang into a turnover then ripped a wrister on net that Nedeljkovic fought off. The rebound bounced to the slot where Raymond darted past O’Connor and swept in a backhander past Nedeljkovic’s blocker. The lone assist went to DeBrincat.

RayRay answers the call. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/s3LQXwGO6c

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 11, 2024

Letang made amends and restored a lead with his 10th goal at 15:09 of the opening frame.

Chasing down a puck in front of the visiting bench, Penguins forward Rickard Rakell spun to his right and dished it to trailing linemate Michael Bunting who, upon entry into the offensive zone, offloaded a pass to Letang bursting up the slot. From above the upper right hashmark, Letang whacked a wobbly forehand shot that found an avenue into the cage under Lyon’s left leg. Bunting and Rakell registered assists.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Kris Letang with 04:51 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Michael Bunting and Rickard Rakell.

Pittsburgh: 2
Detroit: 1#DETvsPIT #LetsGoPens #LGRW pic.twitter.com/3xOyXJRldR

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 11, 2024

Late in the first period, a goal by Raymond at the 19:46 mark tied the game again.

After O’Connor failed to cleanly accept a pass in the neutral zone, Raymond claimed possession and fed the puck to Larkin on the right wing. Gaining the offensive blue line, Larkin dished it back to Raymond in the high slot. From there, Raymond slid it to the left wing for DeBrincat on a give-and-go sequence, resulting in Raymond getting the puck back in the lower slot. He attacked the cage and tucked a snazzy backhander by Nedeljkovic’s right skate. DeBrincat and Larkin logged assists.

Big one. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/j2M3cOc1Km

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 11, 2024

A dazzling pass by Rust set up Crosby’s team-leading 41st goal 7:58 into the second period to reestablish a lead.

Settling a bouncing puck in the neutral zone, Rust veered to the right wing, gained the offensive blue line and from the half-wall, lobbed a pass through a keyhole-narrow lane between Penguins forward Reilly Smith and Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider to the far side of the crease where Crosby surged by Red Wings forward David Perron and tapped in a forehand shot by Lyon’s right skate. Assists went to Rust and Smith, who was elevated to the top line in place of O’Connor to open the second period.

Fun fact: Sidney Crosby’s 19 points (8G-11A) since Mar. 24 rank first in the @NHL. pic.twitter.com/rtg7B3vYiC

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 12, 2024

“That was a beautiful pass,” Crosby crowed of Rust’s assist. “Obviously, I was just trying to find a lane and it didn’t look like there was much there. I didn’t know if he was going to put it on net and I just tried to stop, but he put it on my tape through at least two or three guys. Definitely up there. He threaded the needle on that one.”

Rust got in on the act with his 27th goal – matching a career-high – at 12:44 of the second frame.

Rushing past Raymond to claim a loose puck on the left wing of the Red Wings’ blue line, Smith sauntered up the wall and whipped a forehand pass to the high slot for Rust who scorched Lyon’s glove with a wrister. Smith had the only assist, the 300th of his career.

BRYAN RUST GOES BAR DOWN! ????

And with his assist, Reilly Smith records his 300th NHL helper! pic.twitter.com/1jvCy3xr3n

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 12, 2024

Smith’s promotion to the first line sparked Crosby’s and Rust’s scores.

“We were able to get a couple more goals, which was nice,” Rust said of Smith’s presence. “We just found some space offensively, created a little bit. I don’t know what exactly the reason was for that, but it worked out well.”

Former Penguins defenseman Jeff Petry’s third goal made it a 4-3 contest late in the second period at the 19:24 mark.

Entering the offensive zone on the right wing, ex-Penguins forward Daniel Sprong slid a pass to Seider darting in from the left wing. Curling off a check from Bunting, Seider maneuvered back to the left point and dished a pass to the right point for Petry. Approaching the top of the right circle, Petry wound up and chopped a slapper past kneeling Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson and beyond the blocker of Nedeljkovic on the far side. Seider and Sprong secured assists.

Petry in the final minute of the 2nd. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/u7LwoOsEYe

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 12, 2024

A short-handed goal by 39-year-old Penguins forward Jeff Carter supplied insurance 3:32 into the third period.

From the right point of the Penguins zone, Carter broke up a pass attempt by Sprong, deflecting it into the neutral zone. Chasing down his own steal, Carter roared into the Red Wings’ zone off the right wing, approached the cage and lasered a wrister to the far side between Lyon’s blocker and his right leg for his 10th goal of the season. There were no assists.

10 goals on the season for Big Jeff Carter! ????

This is the 19th season Carter has reached double-digit goals, a feat that only 25 players in @NHL history have accomplished. pic.twitter.com/DR938qc9vW

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 12, 2024

The Red Wings persisted and pulled back within a score thanks to Larkin’s 32nd goal at 12:56 of the third frame.

Raymond outraced Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson to a puck on the Penguins’ end boards and fed it to the front of the cage. As Karlsson and Rakell largely offered little resistance, Larkin jabbed a forehand shot behind Nedeljkovic. Raymond and forward J.T. Compher collected assists.

Larkin pulls us within 1. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/x1v4DDggfJ

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 12, 2024

Things were tied when Raymond completed his hat trick at 14:53 of the third period with a breakaway off a centering pass by Larkin as Karlsson was trapped up ice due to an ill-conceived pinch. Assists went to Larkin and DeBrincat.

LUCAS RAYMOND HATTY. pic.twitter.com/jgb135aQCv

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 12, 2024

“We’ve got some learning opportunities from this game where I think we let them back in the game,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “But I give our players a lot of credit for just digging in and competing. That’s what I love about this group right now. Their care factor is high to get into the playoffs.”

That was evident when Karlsson scored his 10th goal of the season at 1:40 of the extra frame.

From above the left circle of the offensive zone, Karlsson left a drop pass for Rakell who raced up the boards and attacked the cage, only to have his forehand shot denied by Lyon. Crosby muscled Compher off the rebound and fed a pass to the high slot for Karlsson, who smoked a slapper by Lyon’s blocker for the win. Crosby and Rakell had assists.

HUGE GAME, ENORMOUS OT WIN. pic.twitter.com/eZJWXdm3EY

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 12, 2024

“There’s no one to pass it to,” Karlsson said. “I wasn’t really planning on stepping in, but the play kind of widened. I think the guy screened the goalie and I just figured why not? I think I was owed one. So, I took my chances and it worked out.”

Crosby’s helper on the winning goal was the 1,000th assist of his NHL career and was his 1,591st career point, allowing him to surpass Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito (1,590) for 10th place on the NHL’s career scoring list.

“Obviously a big fan of the game and the history,” Crosby said. “That’s something that I’m honored to be a part of.”

The Penguins could very well be a part of the postseason with more efforts like this, flaws and all, in their final three games of the regular season.

“No matter how many games are left or where we’re at in the season, you’ve got to find ways to win,” Crosby said. “We still have to learn from this. We have been in these situations and done a better job in certain (games) than others. But the fact is it’s not always going to go perfect. There’s some games in this stretch where we’ve done a better job.

“Tonight, we didn’t and we still found a way.”

Notes:

• The Penguins’ last overtime win against the Red Wings was a 2-1 road victory at Little Caesars Arena on Jan. 17, 2020. Crosby scored the winning goal during a power-play sequence against goaltender Jimmy Howard.

• Carter at 39 years and 101 days became the oldest player in franchise history to score a short-handed goal who isn’t named Matt Cullen.

The versatile and ripe center scored six short-handed goals at ages older than Carter:

Jeff Carter (39 years and 101 days) is the oldest person to score a short-handed goal for the Penguins who isn't named Matt Cullen:

(via @hockey_ref.) pic.twitter.com/XkhR9RMjyV

— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) April 12, 2024

• Rakell (108 points) surpassed defenseman Olli Maatta (107) for 87th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• Carter (99 points) surpassed forwards Colby Armstrong and German Titov (98 each) for 96th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• Rust matched his career high in goals. He previously established that mark during the 2019-20 season.

• Nedeljkovic (17 wins) surpassed Andy Brown, Dany Sabourin and Jeff Zatkoff (16 each) for 27th place on the franchise’s career goaltending wins list.

• The Penguins scratched forwards Vinnie Hinostroza, Jesse Puljujarvi and rookie defenseman John Ludvig.

• Perron was the last Red Wings player to record a hat trick against the Penguins. He tallied three goals during a 7-4 home win last season on March 28, 2023.