The Pittsburgh Penguins may still struggle to play a full 60 minutes at times, but they know how to battle back.
PITTSBURGH - It was a game the Pittsburgh Penguins should have won, and after a rocky start, they showed resilience to pull out a victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets got up on the Penguins early exactly a minute into the game with a perfectly placed shot from Johnny Gaudreau.
In a pretty lousy season thus far from the Blue Jackets, Gaudreau has been one of the few bright spots.
The Blue Jackets would go on to look like the better team through the first period, but that’s where things went south for them.
Tristan Jarry and the Penguins shut it down not allowing the Blue Jackets to find the back of the net again; Jarry making 38 shots along the way.
The Penguins battled back with a three-goal second period picked up great performances from all over the lineup.
Sidney Crosby picked up a pair of tallies, the power plat continued its upward trend with a goal, and the penalty kill went a perfect 5/5.
Bryan Rust opened the scoring for the Penguins with a goal early in the second period continuing his own trend back to consistency.
The goal was a little awkward, but good things happen when you go to the net and that’s exactly how Rust capitalized.
Not long after Rust’s goal, it was Crosby time to shine; Crosby picked up the next two, potting his own goal in traffic, and tacking one on with a man advantage.
Crosby’s skill is normally unmatched, but this season has been extra special; after this game he now has 35 points (15G-20A) in 26 games and remains near the top of the league in even strength points.
At the age of 35, there doesn’t seem to be any slowing down Crosby’s game.
Teddy Blueger closed out the scoring with his first of the season on a near freebie with Blue Jackets goalie, Elvis Merzlikins originally attempting to vacate the ice.
It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but the Penguins had no business losing to a team like the Blue Jackets.
With the Penguins victory and a loss from the New York Islanders, the Pens move up the rankings to third place in the Metro.
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