Sully Says: "Sometimes We Just Shake Our Heads with Sid's Creativity"

The Penguins wrapped up their five-game homestand with a 4-1 victory over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena. Pittsburgh has now picked up points in 12 of its last 14 outings, going 10-2-2 over that span.
Sidney Crosby - who missed yesterday's practice due to illness - tallied twice, Bryan Rust got his second in as many games, and Teddy Blueger rounded out the scoring in the final minutes after being denied on a penalty shot in the second period. Tristan Jarry made 38 straight saves after Johnny Gaudreau roofed the Jackets' first shot of the game.

This matchup with Columbus followed somewhat of a similar script to the first one. The Penguins had another slow start, getting thoroughly outplayed in the opening frame, but only trailing 1-0 heading into the intermission. The Penguins were a completely different team in the second period, scoring twice in the first 2:02 to take the lead.
"We just knew we had to be better," Blueger said. "We came out a little bit flat, and they came out with a lot of energy. We know we're a way better team than that. So we just kind of had to respond, and just upped the ante a little bit."
After heading to the locker room late in the first period after blocking a shot on the penalty kill, Rust got things started just 1:15 into the middle frame. His line with Evgeni Malkin and Jason Zucker had another great night after they combined for 10 points on Saturday vs. St. Louis.
"Playing on my toes. The line's playing well. I'm seeing the ice a little bit better. Obviously, a little bit of confidence helps," Rust said.
Crosby recorded his first of the night on an amazing athletic play just 47 seconds later, and got his second on the power play just over midway through the period. The Blue Jackets unsuccessfully used their coach's challenge for goalie interference, sending the Penguins right back to the man-advantage, which has been much improved over this last stretch of games. The Penguins also went a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
Here's what head coach Mike Sullivan had to say after the game.
On Rust seeing five minutes of shorthanded time in this game: "Number one, he's a really good penalty killer. He's very familiar with the scheme. He's killed penalties for most of his career here. So, he's always a guy that we can go to, and quite honestly, he's one of our best when we utilize him. We choose not to sometimes because we're trying to manage his workload. I think when he's off the first power play, it gives us that ability to utilize him on the penalty kill if we need to. We kind of used multiple guys there tonight. We used Carts (Jeff Carter) a little bit if we needed a faceoff guy, and then the other guys that are regular parts of the kill. But Rusty is always a real good option for us because he's a very good penalty killer, and he's very familiar with the scheme."
On what helped the Penguins be so effective on the penalty kill: "I thought those guys did a real good job. Their detail, I thought they were locked in. They pressured when they had the opportunity. As I said to you this morning, their power play's 30% over their last 10 games. They've scored a fair amount, and so, we knew we had a big challenge with those guys. (Patrik) Laine is always a threat as a shooter. Gaudreau's one of the better power-play guys in the league. They have a great net-front guy with (Boone) Jenner. So they've got a lot of real good elements to their power play that are dangerous. I just thought our guys did a really good job. I thought we competed hard on pucks. I thought we made good decisions. When we didn't have an opportunity to pressure, we had good awareness away from the puck. But when we had opportunities to pressure, I thought we did it, and we pressured with numbers. That's an important aspect of it."
On if he's seen Crosby has made adjustments or modifications to his offense in-game over the years:"I don't know. I think he's just a wiser version of himself. I think he's such a student of the game. He's not only a student of his own game, but he's a student of the game in general, and he's always looking for areas to get better improvement. So I think because of that, his game is ever evolving, and there's always elements to his game that he adds. So I just think he's a wiser version of himself, if that's possible."
On Sid being on pace for 47 goals, and if his pure scoring ability almost goes overlooked just because he's so good at everything else:"Yeah, probably. And he can score in so many different ways. That's the thing. He's great on his backhand. The goal he got on the power play tonight on the back post there, when he when he drags his leg and he gets down and he makes himself big - I can't tell you how many times I've seen him score that goal over the years. Not a lot of guys can score that type of goal. So, he can score so many different ways. He can shoot the puck. He's got a great one-timer. He's really good at his backhand. He's creative the way he thinks. He scores from below the goal line sometimes. He banks it off the backs of goalies. He scores in so many different ways. Sometimes we just shake our head with his creativity and how he thinks the game. But I do think that it probably gets overlooked because he's such a good passer, and every other aspect of his game is so good, sometimes the actual pure goal scoring part of it gets overlooked."