DETROIT _ The Penguins have plowed through all kinds of obstacles while posting one of the NHL's top records since the start of December. They've lost important players. They've erased big leads. They've snapped back after bad breaks.
During this torrid stretch, they also haven't had two sluggish games in a row.
That changed Friday against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.
One night after they were outclassed in a clash of two of the Eastern Conference's top teams, they barely beat the league's worst team. It took a power-play goal in overtime from Sidney Crosby to get them out of Detroit with a 2-1 win.
The Red Wings entered Friday with just 12 wins and were last in the NHL in both scoring and goals against. The light at the end of the tunnel this summer could be Alexis Lafreniere, the Rimouski star expected to be drafted first overall.
The Penguins finally got a puck past Jimmy Howard with 16:24 remaining in the third period. Early in a power play, they patiently picked apart the Red Wings with simple passes. Evgeni Malkin slipped the final one through a seam in the penalty kill to Bryan Rust, who beat Howard glove-side for his 20th of the season.
This is the first 20-goal season for Rust, the 27-year-old Michigan native.
With the Penguins looking to shed salary this summer, Rust's name came up in trade rumors. He tuned out the chatter and grinded away, working to become a more consistent offensive player. He missed the first three weeks of the season with an injury but has arguably played at an All-Star level ever since.
Many of Rust's 20 goals have given the Penguins the lead or tied the score.
In overtime, the Penguins converted on another power play, this one 4-on-3. Malkin steered a slapshot toward the stick of Crosby, who tipped it past Howard.
Crosby totaled three goals and three assists in his first three games back from sports hernia surgery. Friday was the team's third game in four days.
Through two periods, it looked like Crosby and the Penguins were on their way to back-to-back losses for the first time since late November.
In Thursday's 4-1 loss in Boston, the Penguins scored 24 seconds into the game but fizzled out after that as the Bruins used their speed and physicality to unnerve the Penguins. They got off to another sleepy start in Detroit, perhaps showing a little fatigue towards the end of a difficult stretch of 11 games in 20 days.
The first period was uneventful, other than an encouraging two minutes on the power play. The Penguins played keep-away from the Red Wings for the majority of one minor penalty and put three shots on goal but could not cash in.
The Red Wings scored with their power play to take the lead 3:29 into the second period. With Givani Smith posted up in front, Filip Zadina's shot from the point made it through Matt Murray, who was making his first start in a week.
The Penguins started to show signs of life late in the second. Crosby tried to dangle Jimmy Howard, but the goalie stood his ground. Jared McCann moments later had Howard down but couldn't hit the cage from a narrow angle.
Early in the third, Darren Helm tripped Crosby, putting the Penguins on the power play. The game seemed to turn after Rust made them pay moments later.
Murray had another solid performance between the pipes, making it four starts in a row for the disposed starting goalie. The Penguins were pretty sound defensively, limiting the number of high-danger chances he had to shut down. He tracked the puck well and held his ground on a few scrambles in front.
The Penguins now have eight wins in their last 10 road games.
They will play host to the Bruins at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.
