3 major takeaways from Pittsburgh Penguins' 6-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens

The Pittsburgh Penguins took care of business defeating the Montreal Canadiens 6-3 at the Bell Centre on Monday night. The Pens came back from a 3-2 deficit to win the game with goals from Lars Eller, Rickard Rakell, Kevin Hayes, Kris Letang, and Evgeni Malkin. For Malkin, the empty-netter he added with a little over a minute to go was the 499th goal of his career tally.

Kaiden Guhle, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Emil Heineman scored for the Habs.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the three major takeaways from the Pittsburgh Penguins' win over the Montreal Canadiens.

3 major takeaways from Pittsburgh Penguins win against the Montreal Canadiens

#3. The Penguins’ experience outlasted the Habs’ youth

The Pens’ experienced roster outlasted the Habs’ younger players. The Habs came out strong in the first period but quickly fell 2-0. Then, the Habs got a late goal in the first, using that momentum to take a 3-2 lead.

However, the Penguins played to their strengths and kept pushing the Habs back until Eller tied the game late in the second period with his second of the night. In the third, the Pens caught a tired Montreal team, taking a two-goal before adding an empty-netter for insurance.

The Habs played a strong game, but seemingly ran out of gas in the third. The Pens took advantage of it and came back to take over the game.

#2. The Pens cashed in on the Habs' defensive miscues

The Habs made a number of key defensive miscues, especially in the third when the team seemed tired. A good example was Letang’s goal.

The goal started with a misplayed puck at the Pittsburgh Penguins’ blue line, then a streaking Matt Grzelcyk led the rush with Malkin quickly making it a 2-on-1. Grzelcyk fed the puck across to Malkin who then hit Letang as the trailer. Letang did not miss as the Canadiens’ netminder had no chance to make the save.

The goal highlighted how difficult it was for the Habs players to get back into the play. The Pens’ speed on the goal made the Canadiens players look slow and out of place. Perhaps the best part of the goal was Malkin selling the shot and then making a nifty feed to Letang.

#1. The Penguins made in-game adjustments

The Pittsburgh Penguins' experience allowed them to make key in-game adjustments after the Habs took a 3-2 lead. The Heineman goal was a good example of how disorganized the Penguins looked in the second period.

But then, the Pens refocused and chipped away at the Habs’ lead, eventually turning the tables on the game.

Overall, the Pittsburgh Penguins were fortunate to turn things around in time to skate away with the win. The 2-2 Penguins will next meet the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night with Sidney Crosby one point away from 1,600 for his career.