Güntzel’s winner picks up penguins after capitals 4-Three within the shootout – CBS Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Jake Guentzel defeated Ilya Samsonov in the fourth round of a shootout and the Pittsburgh Penguins took their first win of the season with a 4-3 win over Washington on Sunday.
Casey DeSmith turned down 20 shots in regulation and overtime, then TJ Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin in the shootout as the Penguins avoided their first 3-0 start since 2015/16.
Evan Rodrigues, Colton Sceviour and Marcus Pettersson all scored their first goals of the season for Pittsburgh.
Ovechkin had his 707th career goal of moving into a Hall of Famer Mike Gartner as seventh on the all-time list. Backstrom and Nic Dowd also scored a goal for Washington, who wanted to start the season 3-0 for the first time since 2011/12. Samsonov finished with 24 saves, turning Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin aside in the shootout, but slipped Güntzel’s wrist between his legs and the penguins streamed across the bench after a successful return to the PPG Paints Arena after 316 days.
Pittsburgh got rolling after opening the shortened season by being swept in Philadelphia. Tristan Jarry, who was promoted to the team’s No. 1 goalkeeper after trading in two-time Stanley Cup winner Matt Murray off-season, allowed nine goals in the first 31 shots. While coach Mike Sullivan remains confident Jarry will be fine, he reached out to DeSmith to help Pittsburgh avoid the 3-0 start.
Rodrigues defeated Samsonov in 19 seconds to give the Penguins an early lead and DeSmith a little boost. Washington responded by moving forward until the end of the period, thanks in part to Tom Wilson, who set up Ovechkin’s goal by knocking the stick out of Crosby’s hands and then forcing Pittsburgh defenseman John Marino to make a turnover that eventually to a series led Ovechkin.
Pittsburgh got up to tie it twice a second. Sceviour took advantage when Samonsov was caught playing the puck behind the net. Teddy Blueger took off the passport and fed it to a wide open sceviour in front of him for his first goal with the penguins. Backstrom’s power play goal just after mid-game restored Washington’s advantage, but Pettersson jumped in unusually and hammered a hit out of the slot less than three minutes later to level the Penguins.
The teams tightened in the third half, although everyone missed opportunities in an open three-on-three overtime.
NEXT
The teams finish their early two-game set on Tuesday. Her next games after that are in Pittsburgh on February 14th and 16th.
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