The Pittsburgh Penguins needed a bounce back in San Jose and they got it.
The Pittsburgh Penguins entered their contest against the San Jose Sharks and knew they had to close their California trip on a high note.
Following a tough defeat to the Los Angeles Kings, the Penguins were looking for a bounce back, but would still be more shorthanded than expected.
Despite looking like the possible starter, Tristan Jarry was still not cleared to return and Casey DeSmith was given his seventh consecutive start.
Defenseman Mark Friedman was out and forward Ryan Poehling turned out to be a last second scratch.
Knowing they needed a strong finish to their west coast run, the Penguins got on the board first with a goal from Rickard Rakell.
There may have been a touch of goalie interference on the goal, but the Sharks decided not to challenge and let the Penguins lead early.
Putting a 1-0 score aside, the first period ended looking like a relatively even game; both teams wrapped the opening 20 minutes with nine shots.
While DeSmith was putting together a great period on one end of the ice, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel created some magic on the other.
Crosby made a slick looking behind the back pass to Guentzel who had a whole open net to work with.
DeSmith continued to stand tall, as well, by ending the second period maintaining a shutout with 27 saves.
The Sharks maintained a steady pace all through the third period, forcing the Penguins back on their heels for a majority of the period.
Timo Meier broke through to cut the Penguins lead in half off of a strong break, beating out Marcus Pettersson.
Meier broke DeSmith’s shutout bid, but in the dying seconds of the game, Guentzel buried his second of the night with an empty net.
That sealed the game for the Penguins who need to win more games like this; not just getting victories at a consistent rate, but handily defeat the easy teams.
DeSmith can be an up and down goaltender, but he had an upward trend this time around, making 38 saves on 39 shots.
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