It wasn't a pretty win, but the Pittsburgh Penguins found a way to pull out a victory against the Stanley Cup Champions.
PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Penguins knew they were going to have a tough battle in their first game back from break, but they surely wanted to come out to a hotter start.
Facing off against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche, the Penguins failed to put up a shot on goal until past the 11-minute mark of the opening period.
Luckily, Casey DeSmith was able to weather the storm from the Avalanche and keep it a scoreless game through the first 20 minutes.
The first period ended with the Avalanche leading in shots by a count of 13-6.
The second period got off just as tough of a start with the Avalanche again pelting DeSmith with shots.
Through the first 10 minutes of the second frame, Colorado nearly doubled their shot total to 23.
The Avalanche finally broke through for the game’s first goal when Nathan MacKinnon took advantage of the Penguins throwing away a power play opportunity.
While the Penguins were looking to gain a step up while on the man advantage, Jake Guentzel took a hooking penalty forcing a 4-on-4.
Despite a continued onslaught from the Avalanche, DeSmith again managed to keep the puck out of his net as he ended the second period with 28 saves and only one goal against.
Meanwhile, the Penguins’ struggles to find offense continued as they not only finished the second with only 16 total shots, but came out flat for the third straight period.
As time began to wind down in the final period, the Penguins were getting their fair share of chances.
One of those chances finally went in the Penguins favor as Bryan Rust potted a flukey goal in the closing minutes.
Three periods wasn't enough for these two teams as they needed a 3-on-3 overtime period.
The Penguins finally started a period hot by getting a close chance in the first 30 seconds of the bonus frame; the puck sat on the goal line but never crossed.
After killing off a huge penalty from Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang was able to bury the game winner for the Penguins.
It was a tough game that the Penguins got outplayed in, but they came out on top in a much needed victory.
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