Pittsburgh’s final game of their season-opening road trip on Monday in Montreal followed a similar script to their previous one for the first two periods.
Once again, the Penguins started strong, jumping out to an 8-0 edge in shots and going into the intermission with a 2-1 lead. They faltered in the second, as the Canadiens had most of the momentum in that period.
However, unlike Saturday in Toronto (a 4-2 loss), Pittsburgh took over in the third. The Penguins headed home with a 6-3 win and a 2-1 record on the road swing that began with a victory in Detroit.
Evgeni Malkin had a three-point night and is just one goal shy of reaching 500 for his career; Lars Eller scored twice; and Rickard Rakell, Kevin Hayes and Montreal native Kris Letang all joined them in the goal column.
Tristan Jarry got the win between the pipes after rookie Joel Blomqvist had played in the previous two games. Here’s what Head Coach Mike Sullivan had to say after the contest.
It wasn’t perfect, but I imagine you’re pretty pleased with this road trip? “For sure. I think we won the road trip, and that was something that we wanted to try to do when we left. If we win every road trip, I think we'll put ourselves in a pretty good spot. We're coming into some buildings where these aren't easy buildings to play in. This Montreal team has, I think, taken a big step. They're a good young team, they're fast, they're explosive and they're a very capable group. I thought we beat a real good Detroit team. I thought we were right in it in Toronto. So, it's not perfect, and we've got a ways to go as far as far as building our overall game. But there's a lot to like about what's going on out there. I think our effort is where it needs to be. I think our intentions, for the most part, are where they need to be. We get away from it at times during the course of games. But we try to reset them with some of the discussion on the bench or in between periods, and you can see the guys making a concerted effort. So, there's a lot to like. There's also opportunities for us to improve and get better. We’re going to go back to work in practice, and then we'll see when the next game comes, and we'll get ready to go for that one.”
What allowed you to take over in the third? “I thought it was a much better period in the third than the second. I thought our first period was really strong. We commanded the puck. I thought we played the game with some structure. The second period, we got away from it. You gotta give Montreal credit, they pushed, and I don't think we handled it very well. We were chasing the game a little bit and lost our structure. I thought we got back to it in the third. I think our team, when we play an honest game, we play a structured game, I think we're a pretty good hockey team. We can create offense off our defense. We can manufacture offense with our possession game. But I didn't think we chased it. I thought we just tried to play the right way.”
How encouraged are you by Geno’s performance through these first four games? It looks like he’s playing at a particularly high level. “I think he is. I think he looks strong. He's in great shape. I think he's trying to play the game the right way. We talked to him a lot about certain aspects of his game. We can see him making a concerted effort out there to try to play the game the right way. We've asked him to cut his skating down a little bit in the defensive zone, or his play away from the puck, and not playing so much in motion. I think he's trying to do that when the time calls for it. But I think he looks really strong, and he still has the ability to take over the game at particular points in time. I thought he had a really strong game tonight. His line played extremely well. I think he's a big part of it. He drives that line just with his ability to carry the puck, his ability to see the ice. I think he’s playing really well right now.”
What does it do for the group when Lars snipes a couple? “It's huge, because we ask him to do a lot of the thankless jobs. He gets a lot of D zone starts, he kills penalties, he plays against top lines in difficult situations. Those types of assignments don't always show up in the scoresheet. So, when a guy like Lars has the ability to score a couple of goals, I know it means a lot to him, it's great for his confidence, but it's great for the team. I think his teammates see the effort that he puts in and the pride he puts into his overall game. He's just a good pro, and he plays the game the right way. His whole approach and how he goes about his business every day, I think his body of work in the league speaks for itself. I'm not telling you anything that you probably don't already know [smiles]. But certainly, when he scores a couple of goals, I think everybody gets excited for him.”
How is the Eller line different with Jesse Puljujarvi – who slotted back in after being a healthy scratch – on the wing versus Rutger McGroarty? “I don't think it's a lot different, because both of those guys bring a certain size element to it. I mean, Jesse obviously brings another level of size. He’s a physical presence out there. I think when you look at the line as it's constructed with OC and Jesse, they're two guys that can really skate. They're long and rangy. They can lean on people. They bring a physical dimension to their game. That's a line that we believe could generate offense. They're big, they're strong, and they can skate. Potentially, a line like that could be very effective for us moving forward, if we keep them together. I think Rutger brings similar attributes to that line when he's on that line, also. But certainly, when Jesse goes in the lineup and he’s on that line, I think his size is hard to play against, and his skating is at another level right now. That's allowing him to have some of the success that that he's having. I think he's playing with confidence. He's got poise with the puck. He's not he's not throwing pucks away. He's looking to make plays when they're there and we think he's playing extremely well. I thought he had a strong game again tonight, specifically.”
What did you think of Tristan’s play tonight? “I thought he got better as the game went on, for sure. I thought he made some big saves down the stretch. They pushed again, they pulled the goalie there at the end. We got hemmed in, and he made a couple of big saves there. He made a couple of quiet, difficult saves that maybe didn't look difficult to the casual fan. When Jars is at his best, he tends to make those look easy, and they're really not. He's positionally sound. He sees the play really well,and I think one of his biggest strengths as a goaltender is his ability to read the play and his hockey sense, and that's when he makes it look easy. When he's at his best, the game comes to him. thought as the game went on, he got better at that.”
