The Pittsburgh Penguins once again brought a ton of offense in a strong beatdown of the Detroit Red Wings.

PITTSBURGH – The mountain to climb to reach the postseason continues to get steeper for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they hit the second half of a back-to-back. Seven points out of the postseason, the Penguins were hopeful that they could find some good mojo against a struggling Detroit Red Wings team.

The Red Wings come to Pittsburgh just one game removed from a seven-game losing streak. Meanwhile, the Penguins have succeeded in the second halves of back-to-backs and would need that magic.

First Period

There was a feeling-out process to kick off the contest, as neither team produced much offense. The Penguins saw a power play chance slip through their fingers but made the most of a second.

It wasn’t credited as a power play goal, but a shot from Marcus Pettersson deflected off Reilly Smith’s leg just as a Red Wings’ penalty expired. The bounce off Smith’s leg gave him a point in three straight games and his first goal in seven contests as his struggles may have started to subside.

The Penguins held their lead for a good couple of minutes and grew their shot lead to 12-2, but the Red Wings knotted the score. On their third shot of the game, Lucas Raymond beat Alex Nedeljkovic with a perfectly placed shot.

Time was winding down in the first period, but the Penguins weren’t heading to the intermission with a tie. It had been 11 games since Sidney Patrick Crosby scored a goal, but he knows how to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. A backhand shot from Crosby had eyes as it found its way through a few bodies on its way into the cage.

Before time could run out on the period, Valterri Puustinen got in on the action with his second goal in as many games to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead. The Penguins picked up a whopping 17 shots on goal to the Red Wings’ four to round out the opening frame.

Second Period

Momentum stayed in the Penguins’ favor as the second period got underway. They kept piling up shots while shutting down the Red Wings from the few opportunities they got.

Michael Bunting is still a newcomer to the Penguins, but he scored one of his signature goals just above the goal crease. Bunting battled for space in front of the blue paint and found a Puustinen rebound while falling to score his second goal in a Penguins uniform.

With a 4-1 lead, the Penguins were entirely in the driver‘s seat but allowed the Red Wings to jump back into the contest a bit. Alex Nedeljkovic went to poke-check a loose puck around his net, but the Red Wings beat him to it and set up an easy one-timer.

The Penguins didn’t sit back for too long, as a power play opportunity in the closing minutes again worked in their favor. With 20 seconds remaining in the period, Crosby's shot was deflected by Lars Eller for a power play goal and a 5-2 lead.

Heading into the second intermission, the Penguins had full control of the game.

Third Period

The Penguins opened the third period strong with numerous scoring chances through the opening minutes. Neither team was breaking through the netminders, but the Penguins continued to add to their shot count.

As time reached five minutes remaining, the Penguins already had 40 shots on goal. The Red Wings only held 23.

With about four minutes remaining the Penguins took a penalty, giving the Red Wings a power play chance. While down by three, the Red Wings pulled their netminder for the extra attacker on top of the man advantage. It showed to be useful as the Red Wing potted a power play goal to get back within two.

Only up by two, now, the Penguins kept getting looks at the open Red Wings cage, but nothing would hit. The Penguins missed multiple chances at the empty net before Drew O'Connor finally capitalized.

With a 6-3 lead the Penguins held on for a huge win and kept their playoff chances in view.

The Penguins entered this game with a 6.8% chance to reach the playoffs, according to moneypuck.com. This win won't push the percentage up a ton, but certainly a step in the right direction.

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