Penguins Erupt Offensively, Gain Confidence in Win over Sharks

Entering their matchup with San Jose, Erik Karlsson spoke about Pittsburgh’s recent struggles, and how they could snap out of their slump.

“We just got to find a way to enjoy the game again, not worry too much about what's going to happen and what's not going to happen, and just play,” said the reigning Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s best defenseman, acquired from the Sharks in August after five seasons with the organization. “Try and create that confidence for ourselves again. If we enjoy this game – which we should, we’re very privileged to be here – if we just get that back, I think the rest is gonna follow.”

That ended up being the case on Thursday, as the Penguins came away with a 6-3 win at PPG Paints Arena. They ended their losing streak at four games and had a much-needed burst offensively after being held to just one goal in five of their last six coming into tonight.

“It’s obviously been a struggle to score goals the last few, so to score six I think feels pretty good. But just feels good to get back in the win column, I think,” said Drew O’Connor.

The forward (25) had two assists, as did P.O Joseph (24). John Ludvig (23) got the game-winner, his second career tally, to go along with a helper as the team has looked to give the rookie defenseman more legitimate ice time after he was out of the lineup for a while.

“It was just nice to contribute. It's not normally offensively, but that was the case tonight. So, I'm just happy I could chip in,” said Ludvig, known more for his physicality and willingness to drop the gloves – Reilly Smith has called him a heart and soul player – than his production.

It felt good for that group of younger players to play roles in this victory, with Ludvig saying, “I think we need to be doing it more consistently, because it can't always be the top guys and the veterans. So, it's nice when we can chip in, but we got to do it more often.”

Noel Acciari, Jeff Carter, Evgeni Malkin, Rickard Rakell, and Bryan Rust (empty netter) all scored for Pittsburgh, while Tristan Jarry made 30 saves.

The netminder was terrific in Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime loss to Ottawa, and he carried that strong play into the start of this one – which the Penguins needed, as the Sharks surged early. He came up with several good saves in the opening minutes to keep his team in it, and the Penguins ended up scoring the game’s first goal just over midway through.

“We just weren't thinking and we weren't working as hard as we should have been,” Ludvig said. “We weren't as physical as we could have been in our own end, and they were working harder than us, and that's all it was to start the game there. But luckily, we picked it up as the game went on.”

While the Sharks responded with a pair of tallies, including one in the last minute to take the lead, the Penguins regrouped well in the second period. Sullivan had spoken recently about how Emil Bemstrom, acquired from Columbus in February, has shown signs of being a good offensive player – and he made a tremendous play to set up Carter just over four minutes in.

O’Connor, who’s been absolutely flying in the last two games since missing three with a concussion diagnosed in last week’s win over Columbus, set up Malkin’s tying goal at the 11:34 mark. Malkin now has 50 points on the year, and is one away from becoming the fourth active player with 14 20-goal seasons.

The Sharks again got a late goal, this time to even it up – and the Penguins again responded.

“It was a strong third period by us, and I thought we carried the play the whole period,” O’Connor said.

Ludvig got on the board just 2:38 in; Rakell followed that up exactly two minutes later when Joseph’s shot deflected off his skate; and Rust finished the night off with an empty-netter in the last two minutes.

“I felt the guys did a good job. We talked a lot about going to the net over the last couple of days and we got rewarded for it,” Jarry said. “So, it's nice and I think that'll build confidence for our group just knowing that if we go to the net we’ll get rewarded with those.”

With the win, the Penguins remain in the fight moving forward, a few points out of third place in the Metro and the second wild card spot.

“We just gotta keep going,” Jarry said. “Obviously, we have some tough games coming up, and those are the ones that we need to stay competitive and stay in this thing. We have to win those games. They’re all against good teams. So it'll be a good challenge for us. I think we'll be up for it.