NHL Rally lifts Penguins back into playoffs

Alexei Kovalev's goal at the outset of the third period spearheaded the attack.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
PITTSBURGH -- Allowing just eight shots on goal after 40 minutes of play, the St. Louis Blues appeared to have the Pittsburgh Penguins' freewheeling offense right where they wanted it.
But the Blues' mystique evaporated 17 seconds into the third period when Alexei Kovalev of Pittsburgh netted his 43rd goal of the season and the Penguins went on to post a 5-3 victory Saturday at Mellon Arena.
Twelve minutes later, Jaromir Jagr tied the score by tapping home a rebound of a Mario Lemieux shot. With 72 seconds remaining in regulation, Lemieux scored the game-winner by one-timing a Kovalev pass past Blues goalie Brent Johnson for his 34th goal.
Headed to postseason: The Pens' victory, their fourth in a row, clinched their 11th consecutive playoff berth and kept them four points behind the Philadelphia Flyers in the race for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
St. Louis, which needed a win to keep its faint hopes alive of catching Detroit for a division title and higher seed, limited Lemieux to one shot while blanking Jagr, the NHL's leading scorer, in opening a 3-1 lead after two periods.
"They were dominating," said Jagr of the Blues' strong start, "but all of the sudden we scored a goal and the momentum changed. The energy of the fans helped turn everything. The excitement was there again."
Kovalev's goal, a blast from the top of the faceoff circle, stunned Johnson and jolted the sellout crowd to life.
"Maybe I surprised the goalie by shooting instead of passing," said Kovalev, who saw his first action since serving a three-game suspension for hitting a referee in the back with a puck.
Tie score: The goal that electrified the crowd was Jagr's game-tying tip-in. Lemieux jetted down the right wing on a breakaway, then cut to the net for a point-blank shot.
Johnson got his glove on the puck, but couldn't hold it. Jagr pounced on the rebound.
"I saw somebody coming at me from the side, so I decided to flip [the puck] in front of me, which is easier to come across," said Lemieux of the move to set up his shot. "I got it on net and [Jagr] was in the right place at the right time."
So was Lemieux five minutes later when he drew a high-sticking call against Pavol Demitra.
Perched at the edge of the faceoff circle during the ensuing man-advantage, Lemieux slapped a sharp pass from Kovalev at the point past Johnson for Pittsburgh's 4-3 lead.
"I just hit it perfectly," Lemieux said. "That was probably the best one-timer I've ever had."
Calling the Demitra penalty "a tough call at the end," Blues coach Joel Quenneville said, "Mario made a great play. They have all the talent in the world.
"We did a good job for 40 minutes, we had a couple of opportunities to forecheck in the third. But we were [too patient] and didn't go after them."
Pittsburgh goalie Johan Hedberg, the 27-year-old rookie who was playing in the IHL before being acquired in a trade on March 12, improved to 5-1-1 by making 31 saves.
Early domination: Out-shooting the Pens 16-3 in the first period, St. Louis jumped ahead 2-1 on two goals by rookie Daniel Corso.
The Pens scored first on their first shot on goal. Defenseman Andrew Ference's blast from the blueline deflected off defender Bryce Salvador's blade past Johnson.
Sixteen seconds later, Corso tied the score by banking the puck off defenseman Bob Boughner's skate under Hedberg's pads.
Corso's power-play goal from the faceoff circle put St. Louis ahead.
In the second period, the Blues scored another fluke goal for a 3-1 lead when left winger Keith Tkachuk flipped the puck onto the crossbar behind Hedberg.
As the puck fell toward the crease, Pens defenseman Bobby Dollas swiped it into the net.