PITTSBURGH — The Penguins remained within striking distance of a playoff spot by defeating the Marc-Andre Fleury and the Minnesota Wild, 4-1, at PPG Paints Arena.
Thursday’s win was one of the team’s best all-around efforts over the last month. Tristan Jarry outdueled Fleury. Kris Letang got the Penguins going with the game’s first goal. Then both special teams units helped Pittsburgh put it away.
This home game was close to a must-win for the Penguins, who entered the night a point behind both the New York Islanders and Florida Panthers in the wild-card race. They couldn’t afford to fall further back from the pack with a loss.
All three teams were active Thursday. The Panthers beat the Ottawa Senators for their fourth straight win. The Islanders lead the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Each team has three games left. Pittsburgh’s schedule is the most favorable. But the Penguins have had a tendency to let up against lesser competition.
They also pop up for encouraging outings versus playoff teams, like Thursday.
The Penguins shook off Tuesday’s uninspired showing in New Jersey and started strong Thursday. They out-shot the Wild, 19-5, in the first period. Finally, on their 18th shot, they broke though on Fleury with a goal from Letang.
After Sidney Crosby won an offensive zone faceoff, they worked the puck out to Letang at the right point. He took it from there. He shimmied past Marcus Foligno then caught Fleury cheating off his post, snapping one in short-side.
As Fleury rolled his eyes in the crease, Letang let out a scream in celebration.
Letang, like everyone else, had a tough night in Tuesday’s 5-1 loss to the Devils. But he has been playing monster minutes and inspired hockey of late, helping the Penguins stay afloat despite a cluster of injuries on their blue line.
He picked up his another point on Rickard Rakell’s power-play goal in the second period. Letang teed up a pass for the winger, who ripped a one-timer from the left circle past Fleury. For the Penguins, there was no sweeter sound than the ring of the puck off the post then the roar of the PPG Paints Arena crowd.
Jason Zucker buried the dagger against his previous club, blasting one past Fleury early in the third period. Evgeni Malkin made the play happen, waiting out the defense and sliding a pass between a pair of sticks to the trailing Zucker, who had a few testy exchanges with some of his former Wild teammates.
Marcus Johansson scored on a 5-on-3 power play to get the Wild back within two. But Jarry and the Penguins were able to kill the second Wild penalty. That unit, a problem the last three months, was a respectable 4-for-5 Thursday.
Jeff Carter ended the suspense by steering a shot past Fleury, making it 4-1.
It often was not pretty, but Jarry battled to earn a critical win for the Penguins.
Jarry became busy in the second period, getting his toe on Brandon Duhaime’s tip then busting out a windmill double-pad stack to force Duhaime to flip the rebound over the bar. He got a little help when Brian Dumoulin dove into the paint to keep a puck out. Jarry later smothered Foligno’s point-blank backhand.
ICE CHIPS
-- Even with such high stakes for the home team, Fleury, a fan favorite who won the Stanley Cup three times here, was cheered when announced as the starter for the Wild. Thursday was his third career start as a visitor at PPG Paints Arena. He was pulled in his last appearance here, with Chicago in 2021.
-- Jan Rutta returned to Pittsburgh’s blue line after missing the previous 10 games with a lower-body injury. To open up a spot for Rutta, Chad Ruhwedel exited the lineup. Mark Friedman got the nod over fellow righty Ruhwedel, in part due to his comfort level playing on the left side, and partnered with Rutta.
-- Drew O’Connor in the first period went to the dressing room after an illegal hit by Wild defenseman Matt Dumba. Dumba drilled O’Connor up high a couple of beats after O’Connor passed the puck. Dumba was penalized for interference. O’Connor returned for the start of the second and finished out the game.
-- The Penguins on Thursday recalled Alex Nylander on an emergency basis. But when the 12 forwards already on the roster were healthy enough to suit up against the Wild, he was sent right back down to the American Hockey League.
-- The NHL announced that Friedman had been fined $2,000 as supplementary discipline for diving and embellishment. The incident occurred in Sunday’s win over Philadelphia. Friedman received a warning earlier in the season.
-- The Penguins on Wednesday signed top goalie prospect Joel Blomqvist to an entry-level contract, opening the door for him to potentially play in North American next season. Blomqvist, who was a second-round draft pick in 2020, is currently with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an amateur tryout agreement.
COMING UP
The Penguins are scheduled to practice Friday in Cranberry before taking off for Detroit. Saturday’s road game against the Red Wings has a 1 p.m. start.
