The Penguins were looking to see a strong improvement in their defensive game on Saturday.

And of course, he did.

While battling the San Jose Sharks at the Sap Center in San Jose, Calif., he saw a drop in the total amount of shots allowed from his previous game.

Two nights after shooting the season's worst 45, the Penguins found a way to reduce that number.

From four.

Despite allowing 41 shots to the Sharks – their second-worst total of the 2021–22 campaign – the Penguins were able to run away with a 2–1 over-the-time win, while being outplayed for most of the competition.

Forward Jake Guenzel scored his 19th goal of the season in overtime to give the Penguins an impossible victory.

"I don't think collectively we are playing as a five-man unit," Guenzel told the media in San Jose. "I don't think we were very much in sync. When we're at our best, we're playing as a group of five, we're rushing up and defending hard. Ours So, we have to go back to playing that way. …

"We know we have better."

It would be hard to tell their goalkeeper to be much better.

Journeyman Louis Domingue, who made his Penguins debut and appeared in his first NHL game since May 18, made 40 saves and scored his first NHL win since January 12, 2020.

"He was awesome," said coach Mike Sullivan. 'He saved a lot of time for us,' he said. He kept us in the game. That first 40 minutes, I don't think we were at our best. We were defeated. Louis made some big savings for us.

The shark outperformed the penguin well during the first two periods. While the game was tied 1-1 after two frames, the Penguins were outshot 28-12.

In some ways, it felt like an extension of the Penguins' ugly 6-2 road loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.

"We definitely didn't like the way it went (the game against the Kings)," Guenzel said. "We definitely wanted to respond a little better than that. It happens. It's a long season. They're going to be in these 82-game seasons."

The Sharks first hit 7:01 in regulation. From the center point of the offensive zone, Sharks forward Timo Meier spins backwards and takes a bank pass backwards from the right half wall. Sharks defenseman Erik Carlsen spun forward and hit a one-timer pass on the left side of the crease, where forward Rudolfs Balser caught Domingue's glove from the pass for his third goal of the season. Carlson and Meier assisted.

A strong individual effort from Penguins defenseman Chris Letang leveled the game 1-1 at 10:56 of the first period. After winning a puck fight against Sharks' defender Mario Ferraro in neutral territory, Gwentzel fed a pass to the left wing for Letange streaking into the offensive zone. Faced with minimal resistance, Letang entered the net and lifted a subtle backhander behind goaltender Edin Hill's blocker for his second goal. Gwentzel and forward Teddy Bluger collect assists.

The Penguins, who started late in the second period, ran into penalty trouble when Gentzel was assessed a double-minor penalty on the 18:50 mark.

After catching the Sharks to close second, he faced a 2:50 penalty kill time to open third on fresh ice. They really accomplished that tough job by beating the Sharks 2-1 during that period.

Penguins defenseman Marcus Petersen didn't help matters when he took a pair of minor penalties in the third period. First, he was sent to the penalty box for interference at the 9:58 mark, then he earned a return trip to Lawless's Terrarium at 14:36 ​​for cross checking.

During those final two power-play opportunities, the Sharks managed only five shots thanks to the efforts of penalty-killing forwards Teddy Bluger, Brian Boyle, Brock McGinn and Jeff Carter, as well as defensemen Brian Dumoulin, John Marino, Chad Ruhwedel and Letung. Can you ,

"Disrupting their breakout was something we wanted to do," Domingue said. "You saw our team work on ice and go to their kitchen a little bit. It took some time off the clock. After that, we just fought. Whatever we wanted to do, we fought and got it done. We were good. We blocked shots. We were hungry for rebounds. Another key to the game was to be master of both the net-fronts. We certainly did a good job of doing that (penalty kills)."

Gwentzel and Crosby did a great job in overtime to score the win.

Controlling the game behind his own net, Letang allowed his team to make a line change and then broke a stretch pass for Crosby to the far blue line. Receiving offensive territory on the right wing, Crosby cut the slot, made a move on Sharks defenseman Brent Burns and focused a pass at the top of the crease. Gwentzel set up position on Timo Meier and tapped in an easy forehand shot to give his team a win that needed more than he earned.

"Obviously just a great play by Sid to find me," Guenzel said. "I just tried to be around the net. After that when he plays like that, it's a lot easier."

The Penguins will conclude their six-game road trip on Monday with a competition against the first-place Pacific Division - Vegas Golden Knights.

They realize that they have to play better than the infallible sharks, even in victory.

"We're spending a little bit more time on our own end," Crosby said. "We're not pulling too many penalties. We're not building a lot like that. Our power play should be much better. I wouldn't say it's a specific thing. It's just urgency and we're constantly trying to build pressure. Not looking for ways.

Notes: This was the Penguins' first regular season overtime win against the Sharks. Post season, they beat San Jose in overtime on a Connor Sheary goal in Game 2 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals. ... McGuin returned to the lineup after losing three games while in the NHL's protocol for COVID-19. Primarily positioned in the third row, McGinn recorded a 16:46 ice time in 24 innings and three shots on four attempts. ... Letang (614 points) surpassed former forward Ron Francis (613) for sixth place on the franchise's career scoring list. ... Domingue became the first right-catching goaltender to play in a game for the Penguins since Tomas Vokon during the 2013 post season. ... Domingue also became the first player in franchise history to wear the number 70 in a regular season or post-season game. ... Penguin's scratch forwards were Casper Björkquist and defenseman Mark Friedman.