Penguins Battle to the Bitter End but Bow to Rangers in OT
I thought we were going to win. I really did.
As the game clock ticked down to six minutes remaining and our Penguins holding a 3-2 lead, we once again appeared to be in the driver’s seat. We were playing the right way as coach Mike Sullivan is fond of saying, applying constant pressure to the Rangers and Hart Trophy finalist Igor Shesterkin while doing an excellent job of insulating our own Tristan Jarry, playing his first game between the pipes in a month.
When the Rangers entered our zone, I wasn’t overly concerned. Then I noticed a helmetless Marcus Pettersson setting sail for our bench out of the corner of my eye. Putting a twist in my gut. (I discovered afterward that Pettersson’s helmet had been yanked off by Alexis Lafreniere, which should’ve resulted in a penalty.)
Kris Letang hopped over the boards and made a bee-line for our net, but it was already too late. Mika Zibanejad teed up the puck at the right faceoff dot and ripped a blistering drive past a stationary Letang and over Jarry’s glove and shoulder to knot the score at 3-3.