Blomqvist made 18 of his saves in the first period alone, holding down the fort as his teammates struggled to generate much at the other end, recording just five shots.
“You stay in the game pretty well when there’s shots coming at you all the time,” said Blomqvist, who said he felt “pretty good” in the contest. “You can’t really choose what’s going to come at you in the game, so just need to be ready for everything.”
He continued that play into the second period, with the Penguins getting momentum from some of the sequences he put together. Blomqvist came up with terrific stops against the likes of Connor McDavid – without a stick, nonetheless! – and Leon Draisaitl on a break.
While the Oilers ended up with a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes of play, it could have been a bigger deficit for Pittsburgh if it weren’t for Blomqvist.
Sullivan talks a lot about critical moments of the game that are important for building momentum, with the opening shifts of periods being an example. The Penguins coughed up the puck in their zone, and it ended up in the back of their net just 16 seconds into the final frame.
“I think Connor and Leon are pretty tough to play against for anybody, but especially with their speed and just one little mistake being on the wrong side of the puck and it feels like it ends up in your net,” Sidney Crosby said. “They're just that dangerous. So, it tests your discipline, tests your structure and just your level of compete. You gotta find ways to hold on to pucks and not give them those opportunities.”
The Penguins did regroup and create some Grade-A chances after that, with Erik Karlsson getting a point-blank chance in the slot, and Noel Acciari nearly converting a 2-on-1 shorthanded break. But they couldn’t get anything past Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner, and Edmonton was able to build their 4-0 lead on the power play exactly seven minutes in.
While it was a disappointing outcome, Blomqvist’s play was a big silver lining, as Kyle Dubas said at the beginning of the week “if you're a goaltender in our group right now, the opportunity is immense.”
Blomqvist came into training camp with the goal of pushing for a spot on the team despite having Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic in the mix, and has made tremendous strides in that regard in his second professional season in North America.
“That’s the goal always, for a goalie, to be the goalie that gets the most opportunities out there,” Blomqvist said.
With Jarry back in Pittsburgh for some individual work, Nedeljkovic should get the nod Saturday night in Vancouver. The Penguins have gone with the tandem of Nedeljkovic and Blomqvist for three straight games.
“The reality is, we're playing a lot of games here. We need both guys going right now, and they're both going to get some time,” Sullivan said.
