Drew O’Connor was able to laugh.

After all, when you win, miscues are easier to accept.

But in the moment, things were a bit anxious for the young Pittsburgh Penguins power forward.

During the third period of a wild 7-6 overtime home win against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, O’Connor missed a wide-open net.

Then, he didn’t.

Off a clever backhanded pass across the front of the Panthers’ crease by linemate Ryan Poehling, O’Connor had 72 inches of width and 48 inches of height to shoot at and missed every single one of them as he jabbed a backhander that struck off the right post.

With Panthers goaltender Alex Lyon well out of position, O’Connor was able to calmly clean up his own rebound a moment later with a forehand shot.

“Made it interesting there,” O’Connor quipped earlier this week. “Missed the first one. But fortunately, it came right back to me and I was able to put it in.

“I was just hoping I could get it back. You don’t want to miss an open net like that. It was rolling a bit on me, but I’ve still got to put that in. I was lucky that it came back to me.”

O’Connor and the fourth line — which currently includes Poehling and Danton Heinen — have had some luck in terms of putting a few goals in the opposing net as of late. Over their past two games, that trio has helped combine on three scores.

In addition to O’Connor’s goal Tuesday, Heinen scored his first goal in 34 games during the first period, thanks to efforts by O’Connor and Poehling to set him up.

Then, during a 3-2 shootout loss at the rival Washington Capitals on Thursday, Heinen scored the Penguins’ first goal by cleaning up a rebound off the right post from a shot by O’Connor in the second period.

Two games aren’t substantial against the context of 82 regular-season games. But for a team that has gotten scant contributions from its bottom-six forwards, a pair of contests with any offense from that group might as well be a hot streak.

“It’s tough to rely on the same guys all the time to score goals for you,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said after Tuesday’s game. “So when you can get it throughout your lineup like that, it certainly helps your cause.”

Those among the bottom six are not oblivious to the need to offer a greater contribution on the scoreboard.

“That’s definitely something we need to be a bit better with,” O’Connor said. “(Tuesday) was a good start. We’ve been building some momentum the last few games and just trying to get those chances. It gives us more confidence moving forward and hopefully, we can build on that.”

Even beyond the base offensive totals, this line has been in the black in terms of possession metrics. According to Natural Stat Trick, the O’Connor-Poehling-Heinen trio has been on the ice for 25 shot attempts for and 16 shot attempts against during the past two games during five-on-five sequences.

“Primarily, our role is to not allow goals against, just play solid defensively,” O’Connor said. “If we’re not scoring, at least building momentum, building positive energy for the next group to go out on the ice.

“Offensively, it’s nice to chip in, but I think we can get it done a lot of different ways in building momentum like that.”

Note: The Penguins canceled a scheduled practice Friday.

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