Alright, everyone have time to catch their breath?
After a stunning, back and forth, scream until your voice runs out kind of night, the Pittsburgh Penguins snatched an overtime victory from the Detroit Red Wings, and will wake up tomorrow morning with a playoff spot in hand.
Overtime victory.
A big reason for both of those words being applicable is Erik Karlsson. Yes sir, the Penguins got the full Erik Karlsson Experience™ tonight at home in one of the more crazy wins this season.
His stat line would grossly undersell the kind of night he had, both good and bad.
Karlsson was, like most nights, counted on to log heavy minutes for the Penguins. His 26:02 led the team on Thursday night, and aside from the goal, it looks to be a run of the mill kind of night from a defenseman.
But Erik Karlsson was incredibly involved in this game, especially starting in the third period, where the Penguins assuredly got the bad version of Karlsson.
His defensive work in the third frame, where the Penguins had taken a 5-3 lead thanks to a shorthanded goal by Jeff Carter, was particularly disastrous.
With the Pens up 5-3, the Red Wings pushed the puck deep in Pittsburgh’s zone. Detroit’s Lucas Raymond (who was having an absolutely stellar night) beat out Marcus Pettersson on a race for the loose puck. Erik Karlsson, who was front of the net when Raymond wins the race, abandoned his post in front of Alex Nedeljkovic to pressure Raymond.
This left the ice right in front of Nedeljkovic completely undefended, and a streaking Dylan Larkin charges ahead on a pass from Raymond and buries it past Nedeljkovic.
There was no need for this at all by Karlsson. Pettersson has Raymond contained.
By Karlsson being in the process of heading towards Raymond, that opens up a clear passing and shooting opportunity for Larkin that would not have existed if Karlsson stuck to his area.
Larkin is WIDE open for an unimpeded shot right in front of the net. This play simply cannot happen.
It didn’t get much better for Karlsson later in the third. 1:57 to be exact.
With the lead now a much more narrow 5-4 in favor of Pittsburgh, the Penguins and Red Wings were looking as if they were playing reversed roles. Pittsburgh, the leading team, was driving play in the offensive zone, while Detroit, the trailing team, was playing as if they were just trying to hold out for the final buzzer.
In that vein, Karlsson makes a terrible decision to pinch in the offensive zone. I understand what he’s trying to do, but in a 5-4 game this late in the third, no defenseman for the Penguins should be pinching in any scenario.
The Red Wings jump up and take advantage, and Raymond scores his third of the game to tie it.
Despite this weird role reversal the teams were doing, the Penguins were the ones who needed to get back and protect the lead.
As soon as Karlsson pinches to try and keep the puck in the offensive zone, the Red Wings have an odd man rush going the other way.
In a one goal game with the season on the line, that simply cannot happen.
Despite the two huge gaffes, the coaching staff continued to put Karlsson out there in late game scenarios, which was taking a serious risk as the Red Wings were surging and the Penguins were reeling.
Pittsburgh did have some push in the final minutes, but the game ultimately went to overtime.
Words could not properly explain how crucial this extra point was to both teams, and here in lies where the Erik Karlsson Experience™ shifts gears.
On the ice to start overtime, Karlsson manned the blueline while the Penguins skated early with possession, but nothing came out of it.
I have to say, it took some serious guts for Mike Sullivan to keep playing Karlsson in overtime. Coming off an overtime loss where his personnel choices were heavily criticized and Karlsson was on the ice as the game-winner for Toronto was scored, and considering his defensive performance so far, that was a bold and brave move for Pittsburgh.
The Penguins having a 5-12 record in extra time also did not bode well for faith that the team could pull this one out, and having Karlsson out there also dimmed the lights of hope.
But Karlsson, to his immense credit, redeemed himself in overtime.
With the puck on his stick, he smacked home the game winner to lift Pittsburgh over Detroit.
Karlsson’s game comes with a lot of flaws in the position he supposedly plays, but these are the kind of moments that have helped him make a name for himself.
The Penguins did some damage to their playoff chances by winning in overtime instead of regulation, but the two points will help them down the line with three games to go.
Of note, the Pens did get some out of town help as well from the Buffalo Sabres.
With the Sabres beating Washington, Pittsburgh slides into the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The New York Islanders won again on Thursday night, which complicates things if the Penguins were hoping to slot into third place in the Metropolitan Division. It is technically still in play, but that would require New York’s lengthy winning streak being snapped and the Penguins stacking wins in the meantime.
The Penguins and Islanders play each other in the final game of the season, which could be very interesting, particularly on the Pittsburgh side.
However, a more realistic spot in the wild card. With no teams behind them having any games in hand, the Penguins would make the postseason.
Easier said than done I suppose, with Boston, Nashville, and the Islanders still on the schedule. Tonight, however, ensured that their season did not die.
And right now, the Penguins will gladly take simply not dying.
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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