NEWARK, N.J. -- The scoresheet says that the Penguins lost the special-teams battle against the Devils Tuesday night at Prudential Center, and it's hard to argue with the numbers.
After all, the Penguins failed to score on any of their four power plays, while New Jersey was 1-for-3 with the extra man.
Not much room for interpretation there.
But what those numbers don't show is that while that overall battle was lost, the Penguins won the skirmish that went a long way toward making their 5-2 victory possible.
That would be the one that was contested over a 102-second span during the third period, when the Penguins held a precarious 2-1 lead and the Devils went on a 5-on-3 power play.
"That could have been a game-changer," Mike Sullivan said.
In a way -- a decidedly positive one for the Penguins -- it was.
Before Sidney Crosby, who had been sent off for high-sticking at 3:36, made it back onto the ice, Bryan Rust and Teddy Blueger had sacrificed their bodies to block shots -- absorbing more than a little pain for their trouble -- and Matt Murray had made a couple of quality saves to preserve their team's advantage.
"We knew we were going to have to bear down," Rust said. "We knew we were probably going to have to block a couple of shots. I thought everybody who went out there stepped up."
Those guys didn't have much choice because, just 18 seconds after Crosby was penalized, Kris Letang took a totally unnecessary slashing penalty, as he knocked Miles Woods' stick out of his hands after Woods has jostled him.
That reaction was precisely what Woods was trying to provoke, and Sullivan made it clear after the game that he'd had a reaction to Letang's latest lapse in discipline, too. Suffice to say that when they had a postgame discussion, which hadn't happened before Sullivan met with reporters, the topic wasn't going to be the empty-net goal Letang scored at 18:45.
"Kris and I haven't had a conversation (about his penalty)," Sullivan said. "But we probably will."
Although Evgeni Malkin wasn't part of that epic penalty-kill, that's about the only way he didn't contribute to this victory.
He set up a Justin Schultz goal -- yes, there actually was a Justin Schultz goal -- at 4:15 of the second period:
Malkin then scored the game-winner at 7:11 of the third and added an insurance goal at 13:18:
In addition to his three points, Malkin tied for the team lead with four shots and went 4-1 on faceoffs, adding another chapter to the story of his return to being a consistently dominant force after sputtering through most of 2018-19.
"I think (Malkin) has been terrific," Sullivan said. "He's having a real good year for us. ... He's not as high-risk a player (as last season). He's making better decisions, and he's paying attention to the details."
That's something Malkin's teammates did as well as they have in a while. They played a structured, responsible game, which is part of the reason the Devils managed only 22 shots.
It was the kind of effort they hadn't turned in very often in recent weeks, which is why they'd lost eight of their previous 10 games.
"That's one of the better games -- one of the more complete games -- that we've played in a while," Sullivan said. "I thought we were playing the game the right way."
Oh, there were blemishes, from the Nikita Gusev shot that hit Murray in the glove before ending up in the net to a power play that again looked utterly disjointed at times. Nonetheless, the Penguins were reminded of the value of adhering to the formula that allowed them to be successful for much of this season.
"This was big," Rust said. "Not only getting the win, but how we got the win. ... Everybody played hard. Everybody was on the same page and everybody was working together. That's the key. There's always going to be mistakes. There's always going to be breakdowns."
That's a given. Nonetheless, this game was a 60-minute refresher course in the style that, more often than not, translates to points in the standings.
"They understand how we have to play to have success," Sullivan said. "Now, it's a matter of making that commitment, day-in and day-out."
Whether the Penguins are prepared to do that on a regular basis will be tested Thursday in Columbus. If so, it bodes well for their prospects during what remains of the stretch drive, and beyond. If not, there likely will be no shortage of stress and suspense over the next few weeks.
"Tonight was a step in the right direction, for sure," Murray said. "We did everything we needed to do. ... If we keep building on this one, we'll be in good shape."
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