Penguins Sloppy, Survive to Get Point in 5-4 OT Loss to Canadiens

MONTREAL — The Pittsburgh Penguins (6-6-3) had a pair of third period leads, but neither lasted one minute. The Penguins squandered three leads to the Montreal Canadiens (8-6-1), including allowing a game-tying goal just 42 seconds after taking a late third-period lead.

Montreal winger Mike Hoffman roofed a shot off the rush one minute into OT. Montreal beat the Penguins 5-4 at the Bell Centre on Saturday, but the Penguins have points in three straight (2-0-1).

After two periods, Montreal outshot the Penguins 26-12, and the Penguins hung onto the lead with their fingertips. The third period featured a lot more shots, but Montreal still doubled the Penguins 39-20 with only a few minutes left. The regulation shot clock was 40-23 in Montreal’s favor. 

The Penguins had a couple of chances to win the game.

“I think, for the most part, any time you get five out of six points out of three games on the road, I think most coaches would probably take that,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “When it’s there for you to get six, it’s a little bit disappointing.”

Jeff Carter fed Brock McGinn (4) for a satisfying go-ahead goal with five minutes remaining. McGinn has goals in three straight games and has been one of the Penguins’ best forwards.

However, Kris Letang was given an interference minor just before McGinn’s goal, and Sean Monahan neatly tucked a rebound behind Tristan Jarry to tie the game with four minutes remaining.

The Penguins limped to overtime and barely lasted a minute before losing.

Early in the third period, the Penguins struck quickly. Jason Zucker raced nearly 200 feet to win a puck battle. He promptly passed to Evgeni Malkin in the slot. Malkin (7) backhanded it past Allen for their first short-lived lead.

Just 50 seconds later, Montreal again scrambled the Penguins on the rush. Jake Guentzel swatted the puck away from the net but right to Cole Caufield (9), who swatted it into the net.

Montreal had the jump on the Penguins from the beginning of the game. Montreal was a step, maybe two, ahead of the Penguins in the first period. The goal sequence highlighted Montreal’s full-speed attack.

Montreal winger Evgenii Dadonov walked defenseman Jeff Petry on the left wing for a good scoring chance. As the play unfolded, Josh Anderson (4) beat Tristan Jarry with a 52-foot wrist shot.

There was some traffic in front of Jarry, but it was as soft as 52-foot wrister sounds.

Former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry helped the Penguins get square in the opening minutes of the second period. Anderson took a tripping penalty that was officially scored at the end of the first period.

“We got some timely goals, and that helped us, but I think we were in the D-zone a lot tonight,” Jarry said. “There was a lot of pressure on us there and they got pucks down low and pucks to the net. I think timely goals kept us in the game, and ultimately we want to be on the other side of it.”

Near the end of the Penguins’ power play to begin the second period, Petry (3) skated the puck below the goal line, and his centering pass deflected behind Montreal goalie Jake Allen.

Less than two minutes later, Rickard Rakell (6) deflected Marcus Pettersson’s point shot. The Penguins went from being outplayed in the first to an early second-period lead in less than four minutes.

But they were again badly outplayed for the remainder of the second period.

After allowing the softy in the first period, Jarry was stellar in the second. Montreal outshot the Penguins 19-8 in the period, and it seemed like a lot more. Jarry made several sparkling saves, including a harrowing kick save on a one-timer by Cole Caufield in the middle of the period.

Sidney Crosby did not have a shot on goal in the first two periods and passed on two glorious chances in the second. He finished with one shot. Crosby still needs one point to move past Bryan Trottier and into sole possession of 17th place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list. They are tied at 1,425.

Notes: Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph missed his second consecutive game after suffering a lower-body injury against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. Sullivan termed the injury nagging. Kasperi Kapanen returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for two games. Filip Hallander was scratched due to illness.