Rust averts collapse, Jarry's 37 saves, and more: 3 reasons why Pittsburgh Penguins won 5-4 in OT over Florida Panthers

The Pittsburgh Penguins got a huge overtime goal from Bryan Rust to avert a total collapse against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night at the PPG Paints Center. Rust’s goal gave the Penguins a 5-4 win after blowing a 4-1 lead in the third period.

Owen Pickering opened the scoring for the Penguins with his first of the year. Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Marcus Pettersson added the others for Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Matthew Tkachuk had a pair of tallies for the Panthers, with Sam Bennett and Adam Boqvist scoring for the Cats.

So, let’s take a look at the three key reasons why the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Florida Panthers in overtime on Tuesday night.

3 reasons why Pittsburgh Penguins won over Florida Panthers

#3 The Penguins made the most of their chances

The Pittsburgh Penguins were outshot 41-16 in what looked like a lopsided affair. Still, the Pens managed to score five goals on Florida backup Spencer Knight. By the end of the second period, the Penguins had scored three goals on 10 shots to take a 3-0 lead. The Penguins made it 4-1 at 3:45 of the third on just their 12th shot of the game.

The Penguins had just one shot in overtime, but they made it count. Rust's eighth goal of the season ended the game, giving the Penguins two much-needed points.

#2 The Penguins survived the third-period onslaught

The Florida Panthers assaulted the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third period, outshooting them 17-5. The onslaught resulted in the Panthers tying the game at 11:27 of the third period. In total, the Panthers scored three times in a span of about five minutes to tie the game.

However, the Penguins deserve credit for holding down the fort for the last 10 minutes of the third. The effort kept the game tied, sending it to overtime where Rust capitalized on a 2-on-1 to give the Pens the win.

#1 Jarry shut the door

Tristan Jarry was solid, making 37 saves in the win. Despite giving up four goals, Jarry played very well down the stretch as the Panthers pushed to win the game. He had a number of key saves, especially robbing Sam Reinhart in the third period to keep the game 4-3 at the time.

While the Panthers would go on to tie the game on Tkachuk’s second of the night, the save on Reinhart made the difference between a win and a loss. Jarry deserves kudos for keeping it together after the game was 4-4 instead of losing his composure and allowing the Panthers to complete the comeback.

The Penguins will have a couple of days to catch their breaths before taking on the struggling New York Rangers on Friday night.