PITTSBURGH _ The Penguins gave Connor McDavid an inch _ and he made them pay _ but they lived to tell the tale, and even picked up two points in the standings.
McDavid scored a tying goal late in the third to force overtime, but Phil Kessel netted the winner 42 seconds into overtime as the Penguins beat the Oilers, 2-1, Tuesday night.
The Penguins appeared to be on their way to a 1-0 win late in the third after Ian Cole's first goal of the season broke a scoreless tie 3:25 into the third period.
But at 17:07 of the third, McDavid bust across the blue line into the Penguins zone and fired a wicked shot past Matt Murray to tie the score and send the game to overtime.
Cole had scored his, which appeared to be the winner for a while, on a shot from the left point that somehow found its way through a sea of bodies in front of Edmonton goalie Cam Talbot.
Talbot was screen in front by Carl Hagelin and Riley Sheahan, who also picked up an assist on the play in his first game as a Penguin. Ryan Reaves had the other assist on the goal, which marked Cole's first since March 11 last season.
That goal broke a scoreless tie that cut against the pre-set narrative for the first part of the night.
For the first two periods, the game was hardly a duel between Crosby and McDavid, and more the Matt Murray and Cam Talbot Show. Both goalies posted shutouts through the first 40 minutes, making a number of high-quality saves to keep the game scoreless.
Chad Ruhwedel sprung Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel for a 2-on-1 against Edmonton defenseman Kris Russell four minutes into the second, but Malkin and Kessel weren't crisp enough on their passing, and Talbot was able to poke the puck away.
The best scoring chance for either team early on came midway through the second, with the Oilers on the power play.
Milan Lucic fired a wrist shot wide of the net, but one that set up Mark Letestu with virtually a wide-open net to shoot at on the rebound. Letestu fired, but Murray made a diving save with his stick coming across the net. Brian Dumoulin and Carl Hagelin went down in the crease to block ensuing Edmonton rebound attempts and _ pretty miraculously _ the puck stayed out of the net and the game remained scoreless.
It has sort of been that kind of year for the Oilers so far, who, despite a supreme offensive talent in McDavid, are languishing toward the bottom of the NHL standings. Their goal-scoring has especially been an issue, as their 2.0 goals per game average going into Tuesday night was the second-worst in the NHL, ahead of only Montreal.
The Penguins generally haven't had much difficulty scoring this season, but they sure did Tuesday night. Even their power play _ which came into the game with at least a goal in six consecutive games _ couldn't find a way to get a puck past Talbot, who had 41 saves.
The Penguins finished the night 0-for-3 on the power play on the night.
Despite the win, the Penguins did get some bad news on the injury front, as defenseman Justin Schultz left the game in the first after taking a hit and did not return. His absence would only further the difficulties for a defense unit already dealing with the absence of Matt Hunwick, who is out with a concussion.
The Penguins return to action Thursday night at home against Winnipeg, before they begin a five-game road trip to Minnesota and Western Canada.
