"We Love Their Compete': Penguins Earn Three of Four Points on Road Trip
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
The Penguins produced a textbook team performance two nights earlier in Tampa Bay. Everybody was on the same page when it came to the details of their team structure, and they executed the game plan almost perfectly.
That was not the case this evening in Sunrise, with head coach Mike Sullivan calling it "a high event game on both sides," which is certainly an apt description.
It featured back-and-forth lead changes, as the Penguins scored four unanswered goals to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 lead before Florida responded by flipping that into a 5-4 victory. There were tons of penalties and a bunch of shots (47 for Pittsburgh, 39 for Florida).
But while the Penguins didn't get the win, they were able to come away with a point to give them three out of four on their season-opening road trip that started with a 6-2 victory over the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
Sullivan is proud of what the group did, especially considering they've been without several key players, most notably Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and lost Bryan Rust in the third period of this game (he is currently being evaluated).
"I said to the guys after the game that we love their compete right now," Sullivan said. "We're battling. It's not perfect by any stretch out there, but I love our attitude. There's areas, without a doubt, where we can improve. But we're playing against two really good teams down here, and I just thought our guys competed hard. It's something to build on."
The area Sullivan singled out as one to learn from is how the Penguins responded when Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad scored after a crazy scramble at the netfront to cut Pittsburgh's lead to 4-3. He ended up tying the score just 1:38 later.
"When they got the third goal, I think we could have done a better job just trying to get the momentum back after that," Sullivan said. "But you got to give Florida credit. They're a real good hockey team."
And as Carter put it - all in all, it's a great start.
"Tonight we got behind, they came out hot right of the gate there, as to be expected. We kind of hung on there, and we battled back," he said. "Obviously we'd like to hang on at the end there, but I think it's a good learning experience, building block, whatever you want to call it, for our team right now at this point of the year. I think we can take a lot out of this game and at the end of the day, three of four points against these two teams is really good."
OTHER THOUGHTS, MUSINGS AND OBSERVATIONS
- Milestone Night
Big Jeff became the seventh-active player to score 400 goals, joining Crosby and Malkin on that list.
Full feature here
.
- Great Debut
Carter had eight shots in the game, but that wasn't enough for the team lead. Jake Guentzel had that honor, putting nine pucks on net, and scoring his goal from behind the cage. He was denied on his first attempt, but with his back against the boards, he snaked a shot between Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and the post to bank it off defenseman MacKenzie Weegar and in. It was a play Crosby would be proud of.
"He might have learned that one from 87," Sullivan said with a laugh. "That's a goal scorer's goal, in my mind. That's a high intellect play."
All in all, a solid season debut from Guentzel, who missed the opener as he was
completing his COVID-19 protocols
.
- Special Teams
Both teams got plentyof practice on special teams in this game, and the Penguins did emerge victorious in that battle.
Pittsburgh went 2-for-9 on the power play, with the goals coming from Heinen and Carter to even the score at 2-2. While it's unfortunate the Penguins weren't able to take advantage of two power plays in the final minutes of play, it was a bit of a tough circumstance after losing Rust and trying to stay focused within the chaos of the game. But I thought the work ethic was there, and they had some phenomenal looks.
Also, stick tap to the Penguins penalty kill, which thwarted all six of Florida's opportunities. Those guys have really been working hard to try and improve from last season, where they finished 27th in the league. And so far, they've looked good. New Penguin Brock McGinn has been a huge addition, as he's always first over the boards with Teddy Blueger.
- Two in Two
Both Heinen and Rodrigues have now scored in each of the first two games, which is great to see, as the Penguins need contributions from all over their lineup with the two big guys out. That's something Rodrigues has experienced pretty often in his relatively short time with the Penguins.
"In years past, when those guys go down, everyone relishes the opportunity and steps up their game," said Rodrigues, who almost got a second one tonight on a breakaway attempt in the waning seconds of regulation. "When you're getting more ice time, you're getting more puck touches, you feel more confident with the puck and do things you maybe wouldn't if you weren't playing as many minutes."
Meanwhile, Heinen is proving to be quite the pickup for the Penguins. What a signing by Ron Hextall, who said they felt like the 26-year-old forward had offensive upside and was capable of getting back to the numbers he posted his rookie season (16 goals and 47 points). He's shouldering a bigger role with guys out, particularly on the power play, and is taking advantage.
