Coming off three straight losses in which only one point was earned in the standings, the Pittsburgh Penguins (33-17-9, 75 pts) rebounded nicely Saturday night in St. Louis, defeating the Blues (38-17-4, 80 pts) 4-2 at Scottrade Center.
Thomas Greiss was strong early, fending off a first period attack that featured more quality opportunities for St. Louis than Pittsburgh. Scoreless until about three minutes remaining before intermission, Blake Comeau started the scoring with a quick shot through the legs of Blues goaltender Brian Elliott, which came immediately off a faceoff won by the Penguins. Comeau’s goal was his 13th of the season and was unassisted.
Six minutes into the second period, Patric Hornqvist netted a much-needed power play goal for a unit that, despite entering the game ranked eighth in the league with a man-advantage, had been struggling mightily in recent weeks. Letang and Crosby assisted on the score for a 2-0 lead, giving Hornqvist his 16th of the season. Comeau added a second goal later in the period and it was all Pittsburgh through two. Simon Depres and Evgeni Malkin assisted on that one.
At 12:21 of the final period, Brandon Sutter added another power play goal (his 12th) for a commanding 4-0 lead. St. Louis would chip away, but it was too little, too late as time ran out on the Blues. Dmitrij Jaskin and Ian Cole scored inside the final six minutes to cut the lead to 4-2, only slightly blemishing Greiss’ performance. He made 21 saves on 23 shots, earning his sixth win in 13 starts (7-3-3).
Comeau, along with David Perron, assisted on the Sutter goal, giving Comeau two goals and one assist on the night. He led all skaters with a plus-3 rating and has six points in his six games since returning from injury earlier this month.
Earlier in the day, the Washington Capitals defeated the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Islanders in a shootout, inching them closer to the top of the group. Pittsburgh, after the evening win in St. Louis, also picked up a point on the Islanders, closing back to within five points with 75 through 59 games. The Penguins have one more game left to play than both New York and Washington. The New York Rangers are currently in second in the division; Pittsburgh is currently fourth in the Met.
Sunday night at 6:00, the Penguins return home to Consol Energy Center to battle the Florida Panthers (26-20-12, 64 pts).
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
