Veteran players made up the bulk of Pittsburgh’s lineup for the final preseason contest on Friday in Buffalo, with it being an important game from a preparation standpoint ahead of the regular season opener on Tuesday versus Chicago.
“I think we've improved as the preseason’s gone on,” Sidney Crosby said. “We've got a lot of new faces, and it's not easy for guys when they come to a new team and adjust and things like that. So, I think they've done a really good job of paying attention to details. I think as a group, we've come a long way since the first day of camp. It's a process, so we'll just try to continue to get better.”
After going down 3-1 early in the second, the Penguins turned it around and ended up with a 7-4 victory. Drew O’Connor, getting a look on Sidney Crosby’s line, scored twice – including 20 seconds into the game. The 25-year-old forward has performed well in this training camp, which is his fourth with the organization after first signing as a college free agent in 2020.
“I feel good. I think I just feel a little bit more established at this level, so just looking to continue to evolve my game,” O’Connor said. “So yeah, I feel good after the preseason here, and ready to go for the regular season.”
Marcus Pettersson, Lars Eller, and Jeff Carter also got on the board during 5-on-5 play. As for special teams, the power play started to show signs of brilliance, going 2-for-3 on goals from Evgeni Malkin – set up perfectly by Erik Karlsson – and Kris Letang.
"It was a little scrambly at times... but I think once we got possession, when guys had time, we made the right plays and guys were in the right spot,” Karlsson said. “So, it's nice to see, and nice to get a couple of goals from it. Keep building on it."
Finally, Tristan Jarry looked solid, coming up with several Grade-A stops during a 33-save night.
Here's the lineup Pittsburgh used. Jansen Harkins, claimed off waivers from Winnipeg on Monday, and Colin White, here on a Professional Tryout Contract, got one last chance to show what they can do in preseason game action before the opening-night roster is finalized.
Drew O’Connor-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Reilly Smith-Evgeni Malkin-Rickard Rakell
Jansen Harkins-Lars Eller-Colin White
Matt Nieto-Noel Acciari-Jeff Carter
Ryan Graves-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-Erik Karlsson
P.O Joseph-Chad Ruhwedel
Tristan Jarry
Alex Nedeljkovic
Here’s what Head Coach Mike Sullivan had to say after the game.
Going into the regular season with a win, how much confidence does that give the team? Well, I think it'll be a good boost for us. For all intents and purposes, that was an NHL game. Both lineups I think were really strong, which was great for both teams. I thought the pace was extremely fast. It was a high-event game, a little too high-event for I think probably both coaching staffs. But there were a lot of good things to draw from. I thought some of our players played extremely well. Our power play gained a little bit of traction. I thought our penalty kill had moments when they were really good. And then 5-on-5, there was some good overall play also.
Were there any specific things on the power play that were different tonight? Or was it more so just finally clicking? I just think our decision-making was better, our execution… I thought we did a better job beating their pressure. We didn't hit as many sticks and things of that nature. I think one specific area we probably got better at that might have helped with the execution is we were working away from the puck to support so when we were under pressure, we had outs. We didn't have to challenge sticks everywhere to find an out. I think that was a big part of it as well. I thought the guys did a good job just moving away from the puck, recognizing when someone was under pressure and providing the necessary outs to be able to beat that pressure. That's a big part of the power play in today's game. Most of the kills in the league are ultra-aggressive, they're going to force you to have to make two or three passes to beat their pressure. And if you can beat it, you'll probably get a look. I thought that was a big part of it tonight.
What did you think of Drew’s game, and how he played with Sid? I thought he played well. Obviously, he scored a couple of goals. But more than that, I think he was on pucks. He used his speed, he used his size, I thought he was a solid defensively. There were a few areas where just little details on faceoffs and things of that nature, I think we can help him improve. But overall, I thought he played a real strong game.
Zooming out, was this about as good of a preseason Drew maybe could have asked for? Yeah, I thought Drew had a really strong camp. I think he's a good player. I think he's ready to take the next step. That certainly is our hope, and we’re trying to give him that opportunity. I think he's got a much better understanding of how he has to play in order to set himself up for success. He's playing to his strengths. He's using his size, he's using his skating ability, he’s playing more of a north-south game. He's recognizing when he has to make simple plays, he's defending when we don't have the puck. He's one of our better puck pursuit guys, just with his size and his reach and his stick. He’s forcing a lot of turnovers, and that was one of the reasons we put him on Sid’s line, was to see if in the event that we need someone like OC to move up into the top six – out of necessity, it could be through injury, it could be through certain nights if we’re stale or certain guys aren't playing well and we feel as though the team needs a jolt - sometimes you can move a player like that up the lineup, and it creates a spark for your group. We were curious to see how he would respond to playing in that situation. I thought he responded well.
How would you evaluate Jansen Harkins’ play tonight? I thought he had another really strong game. He's made an impression on us in the short time he’s been here. We're trying to get to learn his game a little bit more intimately than we know it. But as I said to you guys before, the people in our hockey operations department – Kyle (Dubas) included – think very highly of Jansen, and I see why. He has good size; he can really skate. He chased down a couple of pucks tonight to negate icings. And he's got a real good shot. He's got a good release. He's got good velocity on his wrist shot. He's shown an ability to score at the American League level. Whether or not he can do it at the NHL level, time will tell. There's a lot about his game that has impressed us.
