Mike Sullivan Shares His Thoughts From Preseason Loss in Buffalo
Some of them are veterans, like Drake Caggiula, Ryan Poehling, Chad Ruhwedel and Mark Friedman. Others are younger players who have seen a relatively decent amount of time at the NHL level and are looking to take the next step, like Drew O'Connor, Radim Zohorna, Ty Smith and P.O Joseph. And others, like Valtteri Puustinen and Filip Hallander, are pushing for more games.
Here are the forward lines and D-pairs that the Penguins used…
Caggiula-Poehling-Kapanen
O'Connor-Zohorna-Puustinen
Hallander-Nylander-Legare
Devane-Olson-Andonovski
Smith-Ruhwedel
Joseph-Friedman
Ouellet-Swoyer
Tristan Jarry played the entire game in goal, looking really sharp and making 32 saves. Caggiula scored Pittsburgh's lone goal in their 3-1 loss to the Sabres. Afterward, head coach Mike Sullivan provided his thoughts on some of his players' performances from Pittsburgh's fourth game of the preseason.
What have you seen from P.O in this camp and these preseason games?
I think P.O's had some real good play, and some not-so-good play. I thought he struggled in the first period today. But I thought the second and third, he really grabbed a hold of himself and his game. I thought he played much better in the second and third. He just settled down into the game and took what the game gave him. I think he's a guy that's a real conscientious kid, he really wants to make a difference, and he's doing everything in his power to make the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sometimes when you do that, you try to do a little too much. And so, that was a conversation that we've had with him as of late, in just taking what the game gives him and just embracing the process and trusting his instincts. I thought in the second and third tonight, I thought he was really good.
What has been your impressions of Ty Smith?
His offensive game, I think it's really evident. He's great along the offensive blue line. He scales the line on the power play or even 5-on-5, and has the ability to distribute the puck. He's good at getting the puck through and getting it down to the net to give our forwards an opportunity for a next play. His deception on the offensive line, I think it's impressive. I think he's got good offensive instincts. He can make an outlet pass. On the defensive side of the game, I think we've got an opportunity to help him grow there. That's an area where we know he can improve, and I think he's determined to do that. So we're trying to work at that aspect of his game with him. But for me, the exciting aspect of his game is the offense.
You mentioned you wanted to see Drew O'Connor improve on penalty killing and just do some of those smaller things. How did he do today?
I thought this was Drew's best game. I thought he was noticeable. His skating was noticeable. He did a pretty good job on the penalty kill. He was in on the forecheck. I thought his line had a couple of real good momentum shifts. And so, for me, that's the game that he needs to play if he's going to play for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He needs to play a straight-ahead, conscientious game. Use his size, his speed, his reach, and then get in on pucks and help us create momentum. I think he has the ability to do that for us. I thought he did that today.
With Chad Ruhwedel and Mark Friedman, you have a pretty good idea of who those guys are as players at this point. What do you look for from guys like them during these preseason games in camp as you're trying to sort out the back end of the roster?
Just performance. Performance, consistency, things of that nature. How players perform matters. I think that's the world that we all live. Performance matters, and that, I think, is a message that we try to relay to all of our players, loud and clear. So everybody's got to take ownership for their own games and try to do what they can to help the Penguins have success. I think these guys are trying to do that.
Why did you want to play Tristan in this game, and how do you think he did?
I thought he played real well. We're trying to get our goaltenders ready. The first games, they didn't play full games. Part of it is getting them full games. I've talked to (goaltending coach) Andy Chiodo about a game plan for both Tristan and (Casey DeSmith) in this instance, and trying to make sure we get them what they need to prepare them. This was just part of the process.
