PITTSBURGH — The Penguins were in complete control Thursday — of both this game and their playoff standing — when they took a 5-3 lead on Jeff Carter’s short-handed goal.

PPG Paints Arena was rocking and the Detroit Red Wings reeling. It looked like the Penguins were well on their way to a huge win. But then they did it again.

The Red Wings scored with 7:04 left in the third period then tacked on another about two minutes later. The second one gave Lucas Raymond the hat trick.

Somehow, the Penguins recovered to win, 6-5, in overtime. Erik Karlsson ripped one past Red Wings goalie Alex Lyon with 3:20 remaining in the extra session.

Bryan Rust was a monster in the win, scoring once and dishing out two assists.

Thursday’s matchup was close to an elimination game for both teams, who both entered Thursday night in a tie for ninth in the conference, with 84 points each.

The teams traded tallies in the opening period, with two scored in the first four minutes. Kris Letang played a prominent role in three goals — two for Detroit.

Drew O’Connor got the Penguins on the board just 2:40 into the game. Sidney Crosby made everything happen. He banked the puck off the back of Detroit’s net to shake his captain counterpart, Dylan Larkin, then got it to Rust. He could not beat Lyon, but O’Connor was at the crease to nudge in the loose puck.

The Red Wings answered back just 59 seconds later with Raymond’s first goal. Alex DeBrincat picked Letang’s pocket and immediately fired the puck on the net. Raymond buried the rebound after Alex Nedeljkovic stopped the initial shot.

Letang scored off the rush to put the Penguins back in front. But during the final minute of the period, his errant pass led to a sudden 3-on-2 for the Red Wings. Raymond tucked in his second of the game with 14 seconds left on the clock.

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