The Pittsburgh Penguins, who are very close to making it to the playoffs, have decided to use their backup goalie Alex Nedeljkovic in order to make the rest of their regular season games important.
On Saturday, Nedeljkovic played his fourth game in a row, but it wasn't enough to help the Penguins win as they lost in a shootout 4-3 to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Goals by Alexandre Texier and Damon Severson from the Blue Jackets made the difference in the shootout that lasted five rounds.
Nedeljkovic made 35 saves on 38 shots in regulation and overtime, and stopped three of the five shots in the shootout. His record is now 12-6-6. Nedeljkovic has replaced Tristan Jarry as the top goalie in the team for the last four games, and has won 2 games and got 2 draws since becoming the main goalie.
Nedeljkovic said on Thursday after a 3-2 home win against the Blue Jackets, 'They keep calling my name. I just keep doing the best I can.'
The Blue Jackets were better than the Penguins in the first period, and scored the first goal when Mathieu Olivier scored a short-handed goal at 7:47. It was the 11th time Penguins have allowed a short-handed goal this season, which is the same as the Montreal Canadiens.
Penguins forward Drew O’Connor scored his 13th goal of the season and tied the game at 13:29 of the second period.
After holding the puck for some time in the right corner of the offensive zone to let his team change, Penguins forward Lars Eller passed it around to the opposite corner for Bryan Rust, who then passed it to Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson. Then, Pettersson passed it back to Rust, who then passed it to O'Connor, who found some open space and scored.
Rust scored the first goal for the Penguins at 18:55 of the second period, following a planned faceoff play.
After winning a draw in the Blue Jackets left circle, Penguins forward Sidney Crosby moved to the right circle and received a pass. Crosby passed it to the left circle for Rust, who scored with a one-timer shot.
Rickard Rakell's 12th goal gave the Penguins a 3-1 lead at 8:59 into the third period.
After taking the puck in the neutral zone, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin passed to Rakell, who scored from the lower left hashmark, off the Merzlikins' blocker.
The Blue Jackets scored quickly after that when Kirill Marchenko scored his 19th goal, followed by Zach Werenski's seventh goal at 11:47 of the third period.
Crosby got the only goal in the shootout for the Penguins.
