November has been a ruthlessly brutal month for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but for one night, all felt mostly well.
Of course, the most important element was that the Penguins got a win. By edging the Dallas Stars 5-1 on Wednesday, the Penguins ended a four-game losing streak, and earned just their second win in 11 games (2-7-2).
It was about more than merely winning on Wednesday.
Sidney Crosby suiting back up was almost guaranteed to be a comfort for Pittsburgh, like Thanksgiving’s looming belly full of tryptophan. The extra gravy came in Crosby playing so well, though.
His first goal back in the lineup was quite impressive, while he finished the game with three points.
Crosby also did some great work to set the table for what was eventually a Patric Hornqvist goal:
Naturally, the Penguins’ issues don’t really revolve around their big names in Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, and Kris Letang.
Instead, those stars haven’t been able to hoist up an increasingly soggy low-end of talent, as the likes of Matt Cullen, Riley Sheahan, and others simply haven’t been good enough.
With that in mind, it’s a promising sign that Tanner Pearson is showing early signs of being another stroke of buy-low trade brilliance for Penguins GM Jim Rutherford. After failing to score a point in his first two games with the Penguins, Pearson scored a goal to give him points in consecutive games (two goals, one assist overall). That’s a hot streak relative to what had been a shockingly abysmal season with the Kings (zero goals, one assist in 17 games).
The Penguins coughed up a 4-1 lead to fall to the Buffalo Sabres in their last game, yet they at least eked out an overtime point there, so they’ve generated some standings points after free-falling for much of the past month. Considering their struggles so far, they’ll take it.
Still, Pittsburgh has a long way to go, and you could probably argue the same for the Dallas Stars. Dallas only mustered 19 shots on goal against a Penguins defense that leaves a lot to be desired, and only managed 17 SOG as they lost to the Rangers on Monday.
[PHT Q&A with Stars coach Jim Montgomery.]
So, the Penguins beat a team that is talented-yet-struggling much like they are. And there remains a lot of work (and winning) to do to make sure they can earn a spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
You can only do so much in one game, though, and the Penguins showed promise on Wednesday.
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One other thing to watch: will Brett Ritchie be suspended for this hit on Jusso Riikola?
MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.