SUNRISE, Fla. _ Six minutes into this one, the Penguins looked so sloppy that it seemed like they might need former coach Michel Therrien to venture down from the press box and install some sense of responsibility.
Fortunately for Therrien's ex-employer, this group snapped out of its funk.
Then did it once more for show.
With their former coach in the house on a scouting assignment for the Montreal Canadiens, the Penguins flashed some serious resilience during a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Friday at BB&T Center.
Both times the Penguins faced adversity Friday, they turned to their old friend: the power play.
After MacKenzie Weegar scored to tie the game at 3 at 9:19 of the third period, Conor Sheary converted on an aggressive rush to give the Penguins' their final margin, his goal coming at 17:07.
The Penguins were trailing, 2-0, when Evgeni Malkin and Carter Rowney scored 30 seconds apart early in the middle period. Sidney Crosby added another second-period goal during a dominant performance by the Penguins' power play.
That unit has now scored in five consecutive games, going nine for 21 during that stretch.
Crosby extended his run of dominance against the Panthers, too. He has goals in seven of his past eight against Florida goaltender Roberto Luongo, who hurt his right hand in the third period when Sheary went puck-hunting and they collided.
Against the Panthers, Crosby has 11 goals in his past 19 games.
Overall, the Penguins stretched their unbeaten streak against the Panthers to 11 games (9-0-2). They're 4-0-2 in their last six visits to BB&T Center.
The second-period turnaround came amid a philosophical change for the Penguins that actually mirrored what the Panthers like to do.
They shot plenty. The same way the NHL leaders (41.8 per game before Friday) like to do.
It worked.
Phil Kessel drew a slashing call on Alex Petrovic and sent a hard shot-pass Malkin's way. Easy re-direct. Goal at 2:14.
Coming off a season-low 3:20 of ice time Tuesday in New York, Ryan Reaves saw significantly more Friday and made a difference on the Penguins' second goal.
He used his size and forechecking ability to separate Weegar from the puck, and Tom Kuhnhackl slid a sweet backhand pass to Rowney for an easy finish at 2:44.
With apologies to Sheary, the Penguins' second power-play goal may have been the prettiest. Malkin unleashed several one-time attempts from the right circle. It looked like Patric Hornqvist, an avid soccer fan, even attempted a header.
Kris Letang kept the puck in with his hand, extending the sequence, and Malkin set up Crosby for the in-tight goal.
At 11:18 of the second period, with the Penguins suddenly enjoying a 3-2 lead, they were out-shooting the Panthers, 30-16.
The Penguins opened with as lousy of a six-minute stretch as they have all season and paid for it with a pair of early goals allowed.
Matt Murray misplayed a bouncing puck. Jamie McGinn took advantage, slamming a rebound past a lunging Murray for a 1-0 Panthers lead at 4:15.
Aleksander Barkov made it 2-0 with a much prettier goal for Florida at 5:49.
After an extended shift for Crosby's line, Barkov shot through Brian Dumoulin _ who didn't have a stick _ from the bottom of the right circle, a tough-angle shot that sailed over Murray's glove.
By the 7:26 mark, the Panthers had a 7-2 lead in shots on goal and a 12-4 edge in attempts.
Worse, on the ensuing shift, a Justin Schultz drive caught Malkin in a sensitive area.
The Penguins picked it up considerably during the final 75 percent of the period. Greg McKegg fed Hornqvist for a chance following a Panthers turnover. Malkin alley-ooped one to Kessel for a breakway that Luongo thwarted with his left pad. Bryan Rust drove the net on a short-handed rush.
Nothing doing, however. The first period belonged to the Panthers, who scored the first goal of a game for the first time this season.
