NEWARK, N.J. — Uncertainty loomed over Penguins forward Colton Sceviour during a nervous 24 hours.
On Saturday afternoon, the Penguins placed the depth forward on waivers for the second time this season. But when he went unclaimed, Sceviour was once again back in the lineup on Sunday night … and then on the score sheet.
Just seven hours after clearing waivers, he scored twice in the first period to spark the Penguins’ 5-2 victory.
The Penguins (27-13-2, 56 points) rode that early cushion through a sluggish second period. Tristan Jarry stopped 28 of 30 shots. And the suddenly en fuego power play did it again, this time with Jake Guentzel lighting the lamp.
Pittsburgh’s forward depth has been tested in a major way over the last month. And maybe it will continue to be, as newly anointed third-line center Frederick Gaudreau was not on the bench during the third period.
At one point earlier in March, the Penguins were forced to play with just six of their 12 regular forwards. While center Teddy Blueger returned to the lineup Sunday for the first time since mid-March, the Penguins were still without Evgeni Malkin, Kasperi Kapanen and Brandon Tanev — three of their top seven forwards.
Yet, seemingly on a nightly basis, the Penguins are getting contributions from their bottom-six. Radim Zohorna was the first star at Madison Square Garden earlier this trip. Sceviour himself has now scored three goals in the past two games.
“The one thing the injuries have done is it’s made us feel more comfortable with the depth that we have,” new general manager Ron Hextall said earlier this week, while specifically mentioning Sceviour by name.
He might feel even better about it now.
About two-and-a-half minutes into the game, defenseman Marcus Pettersson denied the Devils’ zone entry. He one-touched the loose puck to the head man on the play to spring the Penguins on a 3-on-1, odd-man rush.
Blueger’s initial attempt was blocked. But Sceviour grabbed the loose puck and wrapped it around the net to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.
Less than two minutes later, Sceviour was on the scoreboard again. Off of Blueger’s faceoff win, defenseman Mike Matheson uncorked a slap shot from the center point. Sceviour provided the traffic and the redirection, immediately raising his stick to celebrate the goal.
However, the ice would begin to tilt the Devils’ direction at the end of the first period, when Miles Wood drove to the front of the net to redirect a shot.
That momentum carried into the second in a big way. For the second time in three nights, the Penguins were badly outplayed in the middle frame. The Devils racked up 14 shots to the Penguins’ six. More significantly, New Jersey tallied nine high-danger chances during 5-on-5 play, while the Penguins had zero, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Penguins would have been lucky just to get out of that period with the lead intact. Turns out, they should play the New Jersey Lottery on the way out of town.
Captain Sidney Crosby made a cheeky move to shove Devils defenseman Ty Smith into Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood just as Bryan Rust unleashed a shot from the top of the right circle. The puck zipped through traffic and into the net to make it 3-1.
Blackwood pleaded his case. And the Devils challenged the play for goaltender interference. However, the referees didn’t see enough to change the call on the ice.
Then in the third period, the Penguins power play continued its torrid stretch. They entered the night with a power play that had clicked at a 38.5% clip since March 25. That’s the best mark in the league.
“A lot of it starts with shooting the puck and trying to break down coverage that way,” Jake Guentzel said before the game. “Whether it’s rebounds or recoveries, we’re just trying to keep it simple that way.”
That quote was almost prophetic. Letang ripped a shot-pass to Jared McCann on the left side of the net for Chance 1. Crosby was denied on Chance 2. But with the Devils’ penalty killers scrambling and their formation out of sorts, Guentzel was left alone on the doorstop. He's not a good guy to lose track of.
The Devils closed the gap to 4-2, when P.K. Subban plowed into Jarry off the rush. Initially it was ruled no-goal. But this time the review went in the Devils favor.
But that's as close as the Devils would get. Guentzel tacked on the empty net goal for his second tally of the night.
Sunday’s game wrapped up the Penguins' four-game road trip through Madison Square Garden and the Prudential Center. Though the Penguins didn’t play their best hockey for whole games or for parts of it, they still went 3-1 on the jaunt to pick up six more points in the standings. They remain in third place in the East Division, two points back of the first-place Washington Capitals, who dominated the Bruins and the Islanders, who beat the Rangers in overtime.
The Penguins have a welcome day off on Monday during the NHL’s deadline day, when new general manager Ron Hextall will consider adding a big, physical forward.
Due to previously rescheduled games, they will not be in action again until Thursday when they host the struggling Philadelphia Flyers. Perhaps a much-needed breather for a road-weary team that just played six consecutive games away from PPG Paints Arena.
