For 20 minutes and change last night at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, it looked as though our plucky Penguins were poised to pull off yet another upset against a playoff-bound club.
After falling behind the Panthers on a goal by Sam Reinhart midway through the opening period, the Pens proceeded to snatch the lead on a pair of tallies by Bryan Rust and a third by Evgeni Malkin at 6:51 of the second.
Up 3-1, we appeared to have the defending Cup champs (who’d played and lost the day before) sagging and on the ropes, awaiting the knockout punch.