NEWARK, N.J. — Facing a tight-checking Devils team in the first game back after a three-day break, the Penguins turned to their best offensive weapons Tuesday night when they needed them most.
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Justin Schultz.
The first two are no surprise, but Schultz has become one of the Penguins’ best players over the past month, and his game-winning goal in the second period of their 5-2 win against the Devils only continued that trend.
“Schultzy is hot right now,” Malkin said. “It’s like every shot, he’s dangerous.”
Schultz has scored 17 points (7 goals, 10 assists) in his past 14 games. Those are numbers even he admits are a bit surprising to see next to his name.
“Pucks are kind of just going in for me right now,” Schultz said. “Guys are helping me. I’ve got great teammates here, and they make me a better player. It’s good. Hopefully we keep going.”
The Penguins certainly looked like they are ready to keep rolling after the holiday break. Schultz admitted their legs were a bit heavy early on in the first period as the Devils jumped out to leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the first 20 minutes.
“It’s nice to have those days off, but that first period’s always tough,” Schultz said.
The lone Penguins goal in the opening period came from Malkin, on the power play, and it gave him 800 points in his career, a number only Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Crosby have matched in Penguins uniforms.
“It’s means I’m old,” Malkin joked after the game. “I’ve played like 10 years here. It’s a good number. I’m glad I scored a goal today and we won. It’s very important. I want more.”
As the Devils tried to clamp down on their 2-1 lead in the second period, neither team seemed to generate much in the way of offensive chances. The Penguins had just two shots on goal over the first 10 minutes of the second period, but coach Mike Sullivan said he liked the way his team stuck to its game plan and didn’t try to force any offensive plays that weren’t there.
“We didn’t try high-risk plays because we weren’t getting much,” Sullivan said. “We just kept playing the game the right way, and the plays that were there to be made, we made them. I think that’s a discipline that this team has acquired over time. When we get away from it, we’re not as good, and I thought we had it tonight.”
Eventually, that patience paid off for the Penguins. Conor Sheary pushed a shot past Adam Henrique on the left wing to create a chance on Devils goalie Cory Schneider, and Crosby followed up on the rebound with his 25th goal of the season.
The teams seemed ready to head into the second intermission tied, 2-2, until Schultz’s eventual game-winner — a snipe from the left circle — beat Schneider's blocker with 5.4 seconds left on the clock.
“We weren’t thinking anything different [when we were trailing,]” Schultz said. “We were trying to play the same way we’ve been playing. We knew if we did, we’d get back into the game. We did, got a lead and held onto it.”
That last part felt a bit tenuous for a while in the third period. Carl Hagelin added an insurance goal early in the period, but the Penguins had to kill a four-minute double-minor to Ian Cole in the final six minutes to seal the win.
The Devils power play went 1 for 7 on the night. While the latter number isn’t ideal, it was a positive sign for a penalty killing unit that has struggled at times this season, and a Penguins team that was playing Tuesday night without three of its top six defensemen.
“I thought they did a really good job all night long,” Sullivan said. “Obviously we were on the penalty-kill a fair amount.”
Part of that credit goes to Schultz, as well, who averages just three seconds of short-handed time per game but played 1:10 of the four-minute kill. And for Sullivan, that’s the best part of Schultz’s recent renaissance. It’s not just the offensive numbers, as astounding as they are.
“He’s taking pride and making a commitment with his play away from the puck,” Sullivan said. “I think because of that, he deserves a lot of credit. He’s a complete defenseman right now for us.”
The Penguins return to action Wednesday against the Hurricanes back at PPG Paints Arena.
Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SWernerPG
First Published: December 28, 2016, 3:06 a.m.
Updated: December 28, 2016, 4:23 a.m.
