Penguins Played Hard in Winnipeg, but Need to be Smarter

After a lackluster loss to Carolina at home on Friday, Pittsburgh’s coaching staff made several lineup changes on Sunday in Winnipeg.

The adjustments helped spark some life for the Penguins, who had a lot of good moments in the game. While they again ended up on the wrong side of the score, as the Jets remained undefeated with a 6-3 win, the Penguins feel better coming out of this one than they did the other night.

“The effort we had today was the way we should play every night,” Sidney Crosby said. “We just got to find a way to be a bit smarter. But yeah, we were definitely competing a lot more and got rewarded because of it. We’ve got to find a way to bring that every night.”

Following that game against the Hurricanes, Lars Eller said everybody had to look inward and bring more. “Everybody can be a leader and drag us into a game, whether it’s a goal, a hit, or something,” he said. The veteran forward put those words into action, scoring twice in the contest to give him four tallies through just seven games.

Kevin Hayes netted his third of the year 90 seconds into the second period following a scoreless first. Eller followed that up shortly after to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead and plenty of momentum. However, the Jets pushed back with three unanswered goals to take a lead into the intermission.

Eller’s second of the night came early in the third, but once again, the Penguins couldn’t keep the momentum on their side. Winnipeg responded less than three minutes later with a pair of goals in 3:21, and didn’t look back, icing the victory with an empty netter.

"I thought we did some good things. Obviously, we're giving too much up,” Crosby said as the Penguins – now 3-4 on the season – surrendered at least four goals for the sixth time. “We can't give up what we're giving up and expect to win consistently. So, defensively, we got to find another level."

“I think it starts with just the right mindset,” Head Coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think we're quick to try to jump on the offense when we don't have the puck, and we end up putting ourselves and our teammates in tough spots. So, I think we've got to have more of a mindset of playing defense first and recognizing when we don't have control, or there's a question of control.”

Alex Nedeljkovic saw his first NHL game action of the year after suffering a lower-body injury in training camp. He played one game in Wilkes-Barre on Friday night as part of a conditioning stint, saying the experience was beneficial. It helped the goaltender come out strong, making two excellent saves in the first minute-plus and holding down the fort through the opening 20 minutes.

“I felt good,” Nedeljkovic said afterward. “Maybe at the beginning there, pucks were kind of hitting me. I didn't necessarily feel the sharpest at the start, but yeah, I was putting myself in good spots to make saves and guys were doing a good job of clearing out sightlines and letting me see the puck.”

He continued his solid play throughout the rest of the contest, but as Nedeljkovic put it, the Penguins “maybe took a little bit of a breath the last couple minutes, and they got some high-powered offensive guys that can make you pay for it. They did just that, and they got a couple bounces as well. So, I mean, all in all, we played fine. But obviously, not good enough.”

Talented young rookie Joel Blomqvist made the most of his opportunity early in the year while Nedeljkovic was out, and earned the right to dress as the backup. With the Penguins currently carrying three goalies, Tristan Jarry – who’s struggled early – was a healthy scratch.

“We've tried to put together a plan to try to help Tristan and capture Tristan’s very best game. We know what that looks like,” Sullivan said. “Then at the same side of the coin, as far as decisions on on guys that go in the net, performance at the end of the day is going to be the ultimate dictator, as it is in all the positions. So, we know we've got quality guys there.”

Other lineup changes were as follows:

- Michael Bunting was a healthy scratch. When asked to assess the winger’s play thus far, Sullivan said, “I think our expectation is higher.”

- Drew O’Connor moved to the top line with Crosby and Bryan Rust. The Penguins were pleased with how the 25-year-old played in that role last season, praising the strides O’Connor has taken since joining the organization as a college free agent out of Dartmouth in 2020. While the coaching staff wanted to give new Penguin Anthony Beauvillier a look there, Sullivan reiterated they always have O’Connor as an option.

- Jesse Puljujarvi got a look with Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell in the top-six. He’s been quite the story.

- Noel Acciari moved back to the middle after playing the first few games on the wing. Cody Glass, who’d been playing fourth-line center, slotted in on the right side of that third line with Eller and Beauvillier.

- Finally, Valtteri Puustinen made his season debut. The 2019 seventh-round draft pick had five goals in 52 games last season for Pittsburgh.

Before the game, Sullivan had this to say about the lineup:

"At the end of the day, performance matters. We’re going to try and put people in the lineup who give us the best chance to win at all the respective positions. That’s ultimately what we’re trying to do. As a coach, sometimes there’s big picture stuff, and there’s short-term things we think about when we’re making those decisions. Urgency is always going to be part of the discussion with respect to how we make decisions on a game by game basis… With the parity in the league the way it is, two points in October are a real important two points when you’re in the first week of April."