TAMPA, Fla. — Garrett Wilson had been waiting a long time for this.
A really long time.
Like 59-plus games.
But finally, after more than 70 percent of an 82-game regular season had passed, Wilson scored his first NHL goal Saturday in the Penguins’ 5-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena.
“Felt amazing,” Wilson said. “It’s a lot of weight off the shoulders. It’s nice to get that out of the way so I can stop thinking about it and just play hockey. It would have been nicer in a win, but it was nice to get it out of the way.”
After Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov lost his footing, Matt Cullen and the Penguins transitioned the other way. Teddy Blueger did a terrific job in the left circle, essentially making a no-look pass across the slot with Lightning defenseman Hedman diving to try to stop it.
The puck settled at just the right time, and Wilson finished for his first goal in 60 NHL games, the Penguins grabbing a 1-0 lead at 13:36 of the first period.
Although he’s been playing strictly on the fourth line and definitely is not counted upon to score, Wilson has knocking on the doorstep of his first goal for weeks now, with several near-misses.
“Cully made a good play on the wall there, sprung us on a two-on-one,” Wilson said. “Been playing with Teddy enough down in Wilkes that we have some chemistry. He made a great pass over to me.
“I just tried to get it off as quick as I can and up over his glove. It was lucky enough to go in.”
Even though the Penguins lost their fourth in a row, their fourth line was fairly effective. Wilson logged 7:42 and attempted five shots, putting three on goal. He also tallied three hits.
Blueger wound up fighting Adam Erne, and the whole group turned in several quality shifts.
“As a fourth line, we’re just trying to create energy and momentum,” Wilson said. “I thought we had a few pretty good shifts back-to-back. It was tough to lose a tough one like that.
Wilson and Blueger started the season on a line together with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, with Wilson serving as the team’s captain and Blueger its No. 1 prospect.
In adjusting to life as a young NHL player, Blueger has often credited Wilson with helping him feel comfortable. The Penguins like Wilson because of his size and willingness to do the little things like throwing his body around, killing penalties and blocking shots.
But any player who logs NHL minutes obviously wants to score sooner or later. And for Wilson, that wait started to feel really long.
“Honestly, it was eating me alive,” Wilson said. “It was nice to get it over with. It felt like it took forever. Hopefully I can start putting more pucks behind goalies.”
Around the boards
• Nick Bjugstad adjourned to the locker room and did not take a shift after his final one ended at 13:12 of the third period.
• Sidney Crosby played his 916th NHL game, overtaking Mario Lemieux for the Penguins all-time mark in games played.
“I’m happy to be in Pittsburgh,” Crosby said. “Time certainly goes by pretty fast. I had a lot of great memories here, in those games. I’d like to play a lot more. That’s kind of how I look at it.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: February 10, 2019, 5:22 a.m.
