Despite Solid Effort, Penguins Fall 4-3 To Panthers In Shootout

For the third time this season, a matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers went beyond regulation.

And for the second time, things didn't go their way.

On Sunday, the Penguins surrendered a two-goal lead and lost to the Panthers, 4-3, in a shootout for the second time this season. Pittsburgh couldn't muster a shootout goal, while Aleksander Barkov scored on the very first attempt for Florida to earn the win.

The Penguins are now 1-6 in the shootout this season in comparison to their 8-5 record in overtime. They have converted on just 28 percent of total shootout opportunities this season, which ranks 22nd in the league.

"I've tried it a million ways to try to get better at it, with just different teams that I've coached throughout the years," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "My experience has been [that] you've got guys that tend to be inclined, or you don't."

Even though the Penguins did ultimately surrender the two-goal lead, the game was back-and-forth for much of the evening. Sam Reinhart opened the scoring for Florida midway through the first period with his 34th of the season.

A few minutes later, Penguins forward Bryan Rust capitalized on a power play opportunity for his 24th goal of the season with a slick forehand-to-backhand move near the net front that fooled Florida defenseman Nate Schmidt.

Rust scored again five minutes later, when Sidney Crosby dished a beautiful elevated pass to him while breaking to the net. Rust was able to catch the puck with one hand on his stick to redirect it into the net and behind Sergei Bobrovsky to put the Penguins up, 2-1. Crosby's assist on the goal - his second of the game - put him just two points shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky's point-per-game seasons record, which he would clinch at 20. 

And continuing into the next frame, the Penguins kept their foot on the gas. Pittsburgh got another power play six and a half minutes into the second, when ex-Penguin Evan Rodrigues went to the box for hooking. Twenty seconds later, Evgeni Malkin blasted home a one-timer from the right circle for his 15th goal of the season, giving his team the 3-1 lead.

Reinhart added his second tally of the game on the power play not even three minutes later, however, and things started to slide a bit from there. Although the Penguins had their chances later in the game, the Panthers did take over for large stretches in the third period, and they finally broke through with just over five minutes remaining in regulation, as Anton Lundell scored to even the score at 3-3 and force overtime. 

And after an exciting overtime period with chances exchanged - and the Penguins controlling most of the possession, as has largely been the case in overtime for them this season - the shootout was forced, and Florida took it from there.

Despite the loss, Rust admires the Penguins' fighting spirit despite the circumstances surrounding the state of their season.

"I think it shows about the character and leadership of this room is that we're in here to keep fighting hard and still play really hard," Rust said. "It doesn't really matter where we are, we're in here to still prove something and still be a good hockey team."

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