Penguins Gain Ground in Playoff Race With Another Timely Win

Apr 3, 2023, 01:00

Apr 3, 2023, 01:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins haven't been winning on a consistent basis, but they are winning at the right time.

PITTSBURGH - For the Pittsburgh Penguins, this matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers was about more than just Kris Letang’s 1,000^th career game.

While that was a focal point all night, the Penguins desperately needed to collect two points to climb back into the playoff race.

It took a few minutes for both teams to find their legs following the emotional ceremony honoring Letang, but eventually the ice was broken.

The Penguins got on the board first with an abnormal tally you’d see more often in the NBA rather than the NHL.

Rickard Rakell channeled his inner Michael Jordan and utilized the backboard before finding the net.

The Penguins carried the momentum full-force for the remainder of the opening period and capitalized with a second Rakell goal on the power play.

Rakell redirected a pass from Evgeni Malkin to give himself and the Penguins a 2-0 lead late in the first period.

Casey DeSmith started in goal for the Penguins and made multiple huge saves on the seven shots he faced in the opening 20 minutes.

The Penguins did everything they could to maintain their momentum in the second period despite Evgeni Malkin taking three penalties.

Letang wasn’t the only player celebrating a games played milestone; Bryan Rust appeared in his 500^th career game and made it count.

Rust scored his third goal in two games on a fantastic feed from Sidney Crosby, hopefully putting an end to Rust’s cold streak.

DeSmith once again stopped every shot he faced in the period sending the Penguins to the second intermission with a 3-0 lead.

The Flyers finally broke through with some offense early in the third period to break DeSmith’s shutout bid.

The Penguins' struggles in the third period continued as the Flyers tacked on a second goal to climb within one with just over two minutes to play.

Thankfully, Ryan Poehling capitalized on an empty netter to push the Penguins' lead back to two.

That sealed the Penguins victory and season sweep of the Flyers, and pushed them back into a playoff position.

With a timely loss by the New York Islanders, the Penguins are only a point behind them in the wild card race.

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