Erik Karlsson wasn’t quite sure what verbiage to use.
So, he offered a guess.
“It was definitely a nice, what do you call it?” the Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman wondered. “A moral win?”
Yeah, it definitely could be called that.
When you enter the day on a losing streak, give up the first three goals — then a fourth after tying it in the third period — and do so while skating without two of the most devastatingly talented players in the history of the sport, getting any kind of win is good for the soul.
That’s what happened on Sunday at PPG Paints Arena as the Penguins stormed back against the Boston Bruins to claim a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory that snapped a three-game skid (0-2-1).
Forward Tommy Novak’s 14th goal of the season was the difference.
“(A) lot of emotions are involved in this victory and just coming back,” said Penguins rookie goaltender Arturs Silovs, who made 22 saves on 26 shots, improving to 14-8-8. “It’s a huge credit to the guys to work hard for it and get rewarded. It’s a great win for us.”
Wins haven’t been easy for the Penguins over the past week and change. With forwards Sidney Crosby (suspected right leg) and Evgeni Malkin (suspected brain cramp) sidelined by injury and suspension, respectively, the Penguins are clearly a lesser team when it comes to offensive prowess.
But not resolve.
“We never looked down or had our heads down,” defenseman Ryan Shea said. “We just kept going. That’s what this team is capable of, no matter who’s in or who’s out.”
The Penguins looked out of it for most of the first two periods Sunday. Bruins forward Pavel Zacha opened the scoring with his 17th goal 9 minutes, 27 seconds into regulation during a power-play sequence, then struck again at 8:47 of the second period.
Forward David Pastrnak put his team up by a field goal with his 23rd score at 12:23 of the second frame after Silovs made a clumsy turnover behind his own cage.
The Penguins began to chip away at the deficit at 14:44 of the second period by taking advantage of a five-on-three power-play opportunity when forward Egor Chinakhov fired a lightning bolt of a wrister from Boston’s left circle for his 14th goal of the season.
The opening stanzas of the third period were pretty lifeless until Shea got creative in setting up forward Connor Dewar’s 14th goal at the 6:02 mark.
After Silovs knocked down a shot, Shea collected the rebound above the crease, maneuvered to the left circle and snapped the puck up ice, banking it off Boston’s end boards. Dewar outraced Bruins defenseman Jonathan Aspirot to the puck, spun off a check and flung a dagger of a backhander past Joonas Korpisalo’s glove.
Only 33 seconds later, Penguins forward Anthony Mantha employed a more conventional approach, utilizing a backhander on a partial breakaway to tie the score with his 23rd goal.
The Bruins called timeout to stunt momentum, and that tactic appeared to yield dividends as Zacha restored a lead and completed a hat trick at 8:34 of the third.
Undeterred, the Penguins and Mantha persisted as he cleaned up a rebound to the left of Boston’s crease with a backhander at 11:18 of the third frame.
In overtime, the Penguins wasted little time — 17 seconds to be precise — getting a win.
After Chinakhov made a daring dash on net from the left wing and was denied by Korpisalo, Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy lost control of the rebound and gave it away to Novak, who snapped a wrister from the right hashmarks past Korpisalo’s glove.
Karlsson appeared to get away with a potential interference penalty as he knocked Pastrnak to the ice away from the puck, freeing Novak to score.
“Good little pick from (Karlsson) there, and the puck kind of just popped to me,” Novak said. “Just right place, right time.”
The Penguins need it, whatever you call it.
“Amazing,” Karlsson said. “We came back twice, then won in overtime.
“A huge win for us.”
Notes: Penguins forward Justin Brazeau was scratched because of an undisclosed injury and has been labeled as day to day. … Replacing Brazeau was forward Elmer Soderblom, who made his Penguins debut two days after being acquired in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings.