Preseason Opener a Good Test for Penguins

The Penguins faced quite a challenge in their first game of the 2024-25 preseason Saturday in Buffalo. Their roster, mainly younger players and prospects, faced an NHL lineup featuring the likes of Tage Thompson, JJ Peterka, Alex Tuch, Owen Power, and Bowen Byram.

While the Penguins did put together relatively solid first and third periods, the Sabres came away with a 7-3 win after an explosion of goals in the second.

“It’s not an easy one to assess. Obviously, they had a real strong lineup, and it was a really good test for our guys,” Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said. “For some of them, it’s their first experience playing against NHL-caliber players, and so I thought we had moments in the game where our guys competed hard and we hung in there."

Here’s a few notes from the contest, where the Penguins lined up like this:

Rutger McGroarty-Drew O’Connor-Cody Glass

Jesse Puljujarvi-Tristan Broz-Valtteri Puustinen

Ville Koivunen-Vasily Ponomarev-Emil Bemstrom

Tanner Howe-Jimmy Huntington-Avery Hayes

Ryan Graves-Mac Hollowell

Ryan Shea-Nathan Clurman

John Ludvig-Harrison Brunicke

PULJUJARVI POTS THREE

Scoring a hat trick at this level, even in a preseason game, is an impressive feat in itself. But it's even more remarkable considering what Jesse Puljujarvi has gone through over the last year or so.

After undergoing bilateral hip surgery in the 2023 offseason, Puljujarvi went through a grueling rehab process. He joined the organization on a professional tryout contract last December and earned a two-year contract in February.

After a healthy summer of training, Sullivan was already liking how Puljujarvi looked coming into this year before the puck even dropped. “That is not an easy injury to come back from, and he worked extremely hard to get to where he was last year. I think he's a whole lot stronger,” Sullivan said.

“Just his skating, his ability to sustain skating throughout the course of his shifts or throughout the course of practices… he just looks stronger to me. I think just having the offseason to continue to get stronger, work on range of motion, work on skating, things like that, I think just help him. The further he is away from that recovery, I think the better it is for him, and he certainly put a lot of work in this offseason.”

Puljujarvi is also much more pain-free, which helps in every facet—particularly his play away from the puck. Sullivan praised the way Puljujarvi battled and forechecked in this contest.

MCGROARTY’S FIRST LOOK

Rutger McGroarty, acquired from Winnipeg at the end of August, made some good plays offensively in his first NHL action. He even earned an assist on Puljujarvi’s second goal. “But I would say the main thing for me to focus on is my defensive side of the game,” the blue-chip prospect said afterward.

That will come with time. For now, Sullivan said McGroarty’s hockey sense is evident. “It’s just getting used to the pace of play, the strength of the NHL players, just things like that. It’s an adjustment,” Sullivan said. “That’s what separates the NHL from any other league in the world. But I thought he handled himself really well.”

McGroarty skated with new Penguin Cody Glass, **also acquired via trade last month**, and Drew O’Connor – wearing an ‘A’ as one of the more established players in the lineup. Being one of the quote-unquote “older” guys, O’Connor grinned, “it’s probably the first time for that.”

Read more about the steps the 26-year-old forward took in the 2023-24 season.

GRAVES HOPING TO RESPOND

Ryan Graves wore the other ‘A’ for Pittsburgh. At the end of last season, Dubas acknowledged that it had been a tough first year for the defenseman with his new team after signing a six-year contract in free agency.

“I think part of that is on us as an organization, and it's as much on Ryan to push and find his way through the summer. It's a massive summer for him,” Dubas said. “His strength, which will allow him to be more physical and make stops in the defensive zone; his mobility, as he will be 29 to start next year, he's going to have to really push and work on that.”

So far, the Penguins are pleased with how Graves responded to their directive, as he’s feeling confident after a solid offseason of training. “You get confidence from that,” he said. “The way that (a season like the last one) weighs on you is that you feel a responsibility to your teammates, you feel a responsibility to management, that they've put faith into you and you want to pay it back.”

Graves hopes to do that by being more consistent this season. Sullivan hopes that the added comfort of knowing his surroundings and the expectations can assist in that regard.

“I think there's a lot of things, just familiarity, that might help a player like Ryan in that second year in making that adjustment,” Sullivan said. “We know that that Ryan has the ability to be more of an impact player. We anticipate that he will be. It's our job to try to help him get there. That's what we're going to try to do.”

BLOMQVIST STARTED; LARSSON FINISHED

Joel Blomqvist was set to play the entire game, and the night started off well for the 2020 second-round draft pick, coming off an AHL All-Star season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He looked calm and poised between the pipes, turning aside 16 shots in the first 20 minutes while the Penguins were shorthanded for six straight minutes.

However, the Sabres came out strong to start the second, and Filip Larsson took over after Buffalo scored five goals in the opening few minutes. The netminder signed a two-year deal in April after posting a 19-9-0 record, 1.93 goals-against average, .920 save percentage and league-leading five shutouts with Leksands IF of Sweden's top professional league.

Larsson adds to Pittsburgh’s goalie depth throughout the organization, as Dubas made it a priority to solidify that position this offseason.

“It’s arguably the most important position in sports. If you think about it, that position has more of an impact on a team's ability to win night in and night out, than any position in any sport,” Sullivan said. “So, to establish, develop and work at creating depth at that position, I think is really important as an organization if we want to stay competitive. I think that's something that will constantly be a point of emphasis for our hockey operations.”