San Jose, Calif. - Penguins goalkeeper Louis Domingue hasn't seen many NHL shots over the years. Thirty-eight of them during a single outing, to be precise, since the start of the 2019-20 season.

But during Saturday night's 2-1 overtime win at the Sapp Center, that will change in a big way.

Ready for some rest after lifting heavy workloads in COVID-19 protocols with backup goalkeeper Casey Desmith and starter Tristan Jerry, coach Mike Sullivan turned to his third goalkeeper for a spot start.

On a night the Penguins didn't have their fastball, the Sharks hit Domingue in regulation 41 shots, many of them Grade-A scoring chances. He stood tall to force overtime, as the Penguins stole a point in a game in which they were largely outplayed.
Then? He did one better. In overtime, Sidney Crosby sets up Jake Gentzel for a tap-in goal as the Penguins celebrate a winning rock fight.

"Ever since camp I was ready for this moment," Domingue said. "I saw an opportunity and you either take it or you don't. I thought I came to mind tonight and we played till the last whistle."

The Penguins (22-10-5, 49 points) have been one of the best teams in the NHL since mid-November. He has now scored 35 points since November 18. Only two teams have been more productive during this period.

However, for most of the night, the Penguins were on par with the team that lost 6-2 in Los Angeles on Thursday. The captain as well as the coach admitted that they were surprised by the lack of fire on the puck drop.

"We have very good bounce-back abilities," Crosby said. "We've proved this over the years. After one bad game, we turn the page and we're better at the next one. It didn't happen tonight."

The snow tilted in favor of San Jose for most of the evening, especially during the first 40 minutes. By the end of the second period, the Sharks were leading Pittsburgh, 28-12. In 5-on-5 play, San Jose doubled the Penguins to 10-5 in a high-threat probability, according to Natural State Trick.

Nevertheless, both teams entered the third round with scores thanks in large part to the Penguins reserve goaltender.
"The first 40 we didn't like how we played," Gentzel said. "But obviously, Louis was tremendous and kept us in the game."

The Sharks opened the scoring just over seven minutes into the game. From the right half wall, defenseman Erik Karlsson hit a puck through the slot that Rudolf Balser touched down past Domingue at the back door.

While the Penguins struggled to create scoring chances in the first, Chris Letang made the most of them. Pulling off the crowd, Gentzel dropped a drop pass on the offensive blue line. Letang, flying through neutral territory with speed, scooped the puck in full stride and deflected goaltender Edin Hill with a forehand, backhand move.

Letang's goal was the second in two matches. With a secondary assist on Gwentzel's overtime winner, he overtook Hall of Fame forward Ron Francis to finish sixth on the franchise's all-time points list with 614.

During the second period and into the third, Sullivan attempted to wake up his club with a lineup tweak. Radim Zohorna was promoted to skate in the second row role alongside Evgeny Malkin and Jeff Carter. Meanwhile, Kaspari Kapnan Teddy Blüger slips over the line.

Still for most of the game, creating scoring chances was a struggle. It also didn't help that the Penguins spent eight of the final 21:10 regulation on a penalty kill.

Gwentzel was whistled for a high-sticking double minor, with just 1:10 left in the second. In the dwindling seconds of that four-minute penalty, Domingue made one of his highlight-reel saves of the night when he stunned Tomas Hertl to break a prime scoring opportunity from the slot.

Then, Marcus Petersen made two more violations in the third, giving Pittsburgh shorthand for 6:50 of the last 20 in regulation. Ultimately, with PK mainstay Brock McGinn back on COVID and the Penguins relying on just two forward tandems to get the job done, Pittsburgh extinguished the threat - and even generated some momentum.

This set the stage for the overtime difference maker. Letang rifled a puck from his own area that caught Crosby on the offensive blue line. The captain cut from the right point to the left and found Gentzel alone at the door for the game-winner.

"I just tried to free myself to take one shot away," Crosby said. “I wasn’t able to and then saw [Gentzel] in the back door, finish it. He fought and tapped the guy.”

While the Penguins got results, a recent lack of performance caught the attention of the coach.

"The weather is going to have ups and downs," Sullivan said. "These last two games are probably the first time we've hit the road a bit as far as we're living up to our own standard and what the expectations are within our room. It's important that we Figure it out together."