In what used to be a heated rivalry in the late 2000s, the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins faced off with both teams looking to get on track and stay out of the basement of their respective divisions. A back-and-forth game saw both teams’ netminders stand tall and push the game to overtime, where the Red Wings pulled out a 3-2 win. With the win, the Red Wings moved to 7-7-1, and the Penguins fell to 6-10-2 on the season.
Game Recap
A scoreless first period saw the Red Wings control most of the period with excellent and quick movement in all three zones, keeping the Penguins on their toes. Penguins’ Alex Nedeljkovic kept his former team in check, though, when he was tested, which he was 12 times, with many coming in high-traffic areas and high-danger spots. The Penguins got a bit of offensive momentum in the period’s final minutes, thanks to the relentless play of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Still, they came up empty on Red Wings netminder Cam Talbot, who made 10 saves in the first frame.
The second period had plenty of action, with both teams scoring twice to once again have a deadlock at period end. Jonatan Berggren got things going for the Red Wings with his first of the season off an excellent feed from Vladimir Tarasenko. It did not take long for that lead to extend to two, with Patrick Kane tallying a power play goal thanks to Dylan Larkin battling it out with the Penguins along the boards to find an open Kane in the slot for a 2-0 lead. The Penguins did not fold after falling to the Dallas Stars on Nov. 11, 7-1, instead coming back and showing some push with a quick goal. Bryan Rust beat Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider to the net with a strong protection play and beat out Talbot to get the Penguins within one less than halfway through the period.
The final goal of the back-and-forth scoring affair in the second period came off a rare smooth transition play by the Penguins, leading to Crosby finding Marcus Pettersson, who had jumped into the rush. Pettersson found a wide-open Anthony Beauvillier on a slick no-look pass after being lost by the Red Wing defense for a wide-open net to tie the game 2-2 heading into the third period.
Another scoreless period, the third saw the Penguins control much of the play after gaining some momentum off a solid power play chance. The Red Wings got a few opportunities on Nedeljkovic toward the end of regulation, but both he and Talbot stood tall to send the game to overtime.
In the overtime period, both teams took advantage of the open ice. Malkin got a Grade-A chance on Talbot but was robbed with a sprawling pad save. The Red Wings wound scoring the game-winning goal off a shot from young defenseman Simon Edvinsson on an assist from Alex DeBrincat and Kane. In the victory, Talbot reached 250 career wins.
Both teams will return to the ice on Nov. 15, with the Penguins heading to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets. The Red Wings will travel to the West Coast and take on the Anaheim Ducks.
