Penguins rally late to beat Devils in OT

Associated Press

NEWARK, N.j.

The struggling Pittsburgh Penguins could have given up against the New Jersey Devils.

They trailed by a goal in the third period, and goalie Cory Schneider was stopping everything and getting bailed out by some pings off the posts.

But the Penguins hung in and pulled out a much-needed win.

Defenseman Simon Despres scored 2:21 into overtime, and the Penguins rallied to beat the Devils 2-1 on Friday night.

“The way things have been going lately, we could have just accepted this as a loss, but we all stayed with it,” said Chris Kunitz, who forced overtime with a power-play goal with 3:11 left in regulation. “That was the key. We stayed with it, stayed focused, kept the pressure on.”

The loss spoiled a magnificent performance by Schneider, who made 41 saves.

The winning goal came after Schneider made a close-in stop on Brandon Sutton. The Penguins kept the puck in the zone, and Despres’ shot from inside the blue line beat a screened Schneider.

“I didn’t get a great look at it,” Schneider said. “I think he came one way and shot it back the other through a screen. It just got a piece of the post and went in. It was a nice shot.”

Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said Schneider’s performance was one of the best he has seen by a goalie in a while.

“He gave us a chance to win, more than a chance to win,” Lamoriello said. “It’s a shame he didn’t get the win. Certainly the team would get the win, but he deserved a better fate.”

Marc-Andre Fleury made 13 saves for the Penguins, who fell behind 1-0 when Devils forward Steve Bernier scored on a wraparound 6:08 into the third period.

New Jersey failed to tie its season-best, three-game winning streak. Pittsburgh won for the second time in seven games (2-3-2).

“We talked about that, the last couple of days, that most importantly, we had to stay with it,” Penguins coach Mike Johnston said. “We were playing our game. We played a good game. We didn’t flinch after they scored. We did whatever it took to get the game-tying goal. ”

Schneider stopped the first 37 Pittsburgh shots and seemed on the verge of his third shutout of the season when Peter Harrold took a high-sticking penalty with 3:29 left in regulation.

The Penguins needed only 18 seconds to tie it 1-1. Sidney Crosby, who had been stopped point blank earlier in the period by Schneider on a nice setup by David Perron, took a shot from the right circle that hit Schneider in the chest. Defenseman Adam Larsson couldn’t clear the puck, and Kunitz fired the rebound into the net for his 15th goal.