Penguins Postgame Q&A: Crosby Magic, So Many Mistakes

The Pittsburgh Penguins needed a win to keep a Stanley Cup playoff berth within reach. Despite their best mistakes, they beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-5 in overtime Thursday at PPG Paint Arena.

Sidney Crosby pushed the Penguins past their mistakes and sloppiness. It was Crosby who set up the game-winner, scored by Erik Karlsson in overtime. The Penguins have just six overtime wins this season and have not won an overtime game since February, but this time, they possessed the puck in overtime and didn’t turn it over.

Regulation was a different story and a wild one for the Penguins as they gave up a two-goal third period lead. Crosby had three points, including his 1000th assist, taking over 10th place all-time in NHL scoring.

Like coach Mike Sullivan, who praised his team’s resilience but not before chiding them for not playing well, Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dan Kingerski called out the Penguins’ self-inflicted shortcomings, why Detroit didn’t score more goals, and marveled at Crosby’s continued heroics.

Those shortcomings were in large part by their top defenseman. Kingerski broke down the game but also got into the locker room’s praise of Crosby (3:05) and the playoff situation. There was also the game-changing moment when Crosby slammed Detroit d-man Ben Chiarot (4:36).

Also, via X, Kingerski took reader questions, including about Kris Letang’s and Karlsson’s mistakes (5:45), whether Tristan Jarry should start one of the remaining three games (7:25), Bryan Rust (9:40), coach Mike Sullivan’s decision to elevate Reilly Smith to the top line (10:17), and the best hockey arena snacks in the NHL (12:03).