Mikko Rantanen (3G-2A) and Nathan MacKinnon (1G-4A) each had five points to give Colorado a 6-2 win over the Penguins on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena.
“They’re overall really good players, you know? MacKinnon has the speed, the skill, the shot. Rantanen has a big presence. He’s really good around the net. It’s tough to knock them off the puck,” Kris Letang said.
MacKinnon, the reigning Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP, opened the scoring in the first period. Rantanen, who entered the game tied for seventh in the league with 15 goals and was the NHL’s Second Star for November, tallied two of his three goals by the 5:46 mark of the middle frame to put Colorado up 3-0.
However, the Penguins did respond well from there. It started with a good shift from the Crosby line, with Bryan Rust getting a chance. The coaching staff then replaced Drew O’Connor with Cody Glass on Evgeni Malkin’s line, and those two teamed up for a big goal. It was Glass’ first as a Penguin.
“That was a good feeling. At one point, I didn't think I was ever going to score again,” Glass said with a wry smile. “It was a good feeling. That’s what happens when you play with Geno, he'll find you anywhere. It’s a play where Tanger makes a great play on the wall, gives it to him and he finds me streaking backside. Give me that much time and space, hopefully I score [laughs].”
The team acquired the 25-year-old forward from Nashville in August, hoping they could help the seventh overall pick in 2017 reach his potential here in Pittsburgh, as they like his size, skating ability, offensive instincts, and versatility. Glass missed nearly a month with a concussion, but is starting to discover his game since returning to the lineup on Friday in New York.
Meanwhile, Michael Bunting has done a tremendous job of working his way back from the toughest start he’s experienced in his NHL career. After picking up one point in his first 12 games and sitting out one night as a healthy scratch, Bunting now has seven goals and 12 points over his last 17 games.
He got his second in as many games shortly after a Penguins power play expired to cut Pittsburgh’s deficit to 3-2. The key to Bunting’s resurgence has been keeping it simple and sticking to what has made him successful in this league – which is “going to the net, going to those greasy areas.”
The Penguins then had a strong start to the third period, but Colorado’s fourth goal – scored on a power move from Valeri Nichushkin – took the wind out of their sails, as Mike Sullivan put it. “We couldn’t seem to grab the momentum after that,” Pittsburgh’s head coach said.
It wasn’t Tristan Jarry’s best night, as he surrendered five goals on 26 shots (Rantanen capped off the hat trick with an empty-netter). Adidtionally, Sullivan said he would have liked his guys to be stiffer on the puck, do a better job of controlling territory, and force the Avalanche to defend them more.
They also didn’t generate as much momentum from their power play compared to previous games, going 0-for-4 in that category.
“I didn't think it was good tonight,” Sullivan said. “We didn’t move pucks as quickly. Our entries weren't as clean... I just didn't think our decision making or our execution was as crisp, and the pace and the tempo that we moved the puck on the power play, I thought wasn't as good as it was the other night against Toronto.”
It’s worth noting that this was just Pittsburgh’s second loss in the last seven games, and a much better effort compared to that loss to the Rangers on Friday.
“Our compete was way better,” Marcus Pettersson said. “We tried to claw our way back in the game. I thought the compete was way better. They made us pay today.”
