Pens Win OT Thriller 5-4

After letting a two goal lead slip away in the last 1:08 of regulation, the Penguins needed someone to step up in overtime and lead the team to their first victory of the season. Paul Thompson scored a power play goal in the first period but will be remembered tonight for what he did in the final seconds of overtime.

In the last 30 seconds of the extra session, Thompson was leveled with an open ice hit by T.J. Brennan. Instead of heading to the bench for a line change, Thompson stayed out and received a beautiful pass from Simon Despres and with a defender on his back, beat David Leggio and sent the fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena into a frenzy. The team's first win, and a good start to the weekend.

I spoke with Thompson after the game and he said the team "got a big win that we needed". He also mentioned that with the way the Pens played most of the night that they "deserved an outcome like that."


Eric Tangradi broke a tie game open in the third period, smacking home a rebound of a Thompson shot to give the Pens a 3-2 lead.  Brian Gibbons added what everyone thought was an insurance goal with 4:55 to play. 

When asked about the importance of tonight's game, Tangradi was quick to say that it "felt like a playoff game, a must win." 

Brad Thiessen got the start in net tonight, allowing four goals on 34 shots. The first goal came just 38 seconds into the game. The last two came 44 seconds apart in the final 1:08 of regulation. Head coach John Hynes didn't seem impressed by Thiessen's performance tonight, saying he could be better. Look for Jeff Zatkoff to get the start in net tomorrow in Syracuse.

All around exciting night at the arena  as I was invited to the press box for the game, got to live tweet the second period taking over the Penguins Twitter feed and even got to head downstairs to the locker room after the game. Look for live tweets from @H_P_Hockey tomorrow in Syracuse!