When the red light flickered on, the relief Alex Galchenyuk felt was evident.
He did a double take to make sure his shot indeed hit the back of the net. He then lifted his arms, let out a guttural scream and jumped into the boards at PPG Paints Arena, taking out weeks of frustration on an innocent pane of plexiglass.
Galchenyuk had gone 14 games in black and gold without a goal. He lost his spot on the top power-play unit. His ice time dwindled. His coach implied he wasn’t getting many chances because he wasn’t “playing the game the right way.”
But he was one of the last two or three Penguins off the ice after recent practices, hoping to sweat his way out of his slump. Often, he would then patiently answer questions from reporters, expressing confidence he’d break through soon.
Galchenyuk finally did in the first period of Monday’s 3-2 win against the Calgary Flames, which Jake Guentzel decided in the final minute of overtime.
“It’s been a while,” Galchenyuk said. “Obviously, when it crossed the goal line, I was very emotional. It was a great feeling. And even better that we got the win.”
Dominik Kahun cruised in alone on the left wing and fired a waist-high shot on David Rittich, who couldn’t control the rebound. Jared McCann, crashing the net, whiffed on his shot. The puck skittered to Galchenyuk, trailing on the play.
The 25-year-old winger pounded the rebound between the goalie’s pads.
“Every season, you kind of go through slumps,” Galchenyuk said. “Last year, I went [16] games [without a goal]. This time was harder, because you want to get the first one with the new team. I’m happy to get it over with now.”
McCann led the charge as Galchenyuk was mobbed by four teammates.
“I think I head-butted him or something like that. Almost knocked his teeth out,” McCann said, adding, “It was awesome. He’s been working his bag off and sometimes things just don’t go your way. Every guy in the league’s gone through it.”
Perhaps that goal will spark Galchenyuk, who was acquired from Arizona in the Phil Kessel trade. The Penguins had high hopes then for the former 30-goal scorer making $4.9 million in the final year of his contract. But he battled injuries and didn’t click with Evgeni Malkin, leading to his tumble down the lineup.
“I kept working. Especially coming back from injury, there’s a lot of things I needed to get back — the rhythm and my timing, confidence and everything,” the former No. 3 overall pick said. “I just stuck to it in practice and it paid off today.”
Galchenyuk might just have something going with McCann and Brandon Tanev, whom Mike Sullivan put together in Thursday’s overtime loss in Brooklyn.
They connected again in the second period. Tanev pestered a pair of Flames until they lost control of the puck. Galchenyuk, supporting him near the wall, quickly slid it to McCann. His shot from the right circle hit a shin guard and caught Rittich off guard. The goal, his ninth of the season, gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead.
Sean Monahan scored on a power play late in that period to pull the Flames even again. The Penguins, who lost track of Monahan in the slot, have been beaten for a power-play goal in three straight games after killing 26 penalties in a row.
Jarry, one of the league leaders in save percentage, made his second straight start after stopping 36 shots in Friday’s 4-1 win over New Jersey. It was the first time since March 2018 that he made consecutive starts at the NHL level.
So calm in his first five starts, he looked jittery early, letting rebounds leak out and sprawling around on a few occasions. But he settled down and made 32 saves, none bigger than when he paddled away Johnny Gaudreau’s breakaway attempt once the Penguins played into overtime for the seventh time in 11 games.
“Just tried to hold my ground and do the best to follow whatever move he’s going to do and try and get in front of it,” Jarry said about stopping that All-Star.
Moments later, with 56 seconds left in overtime, Guentzel beat Rittich with a wrist shot from atop the left circle. He has now scored in five straight home games.
“I just tried to use the D-man as a screen,” Guentzel said. “Glad it went in.”
The Penguins won a game that Sullivan admitted wasn’t among their best.
“For whatever reason, it didn’t seem like we had a lot of jump, especially early in the game,” the coach said. “But I give our players a lot of credit because there’s going to be nights over the course of an 82-game schedule where you have nights where it’s a little bit of a struggle. We found a way to stay in the game.”
The Penguins next will play host to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.
First Published: November 26, 2019, 2:52 a.m.