Training Camp Takeaways: Championship Scrimmage

Day 4 of Pens' training camp featured a scrimmage championship and play-in contest to crown the winner of the camp tournament. Here are the biggest takeaways…

Play-in
Team 1 (featuring Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Justin Schultz and Matt Murray) squared off against Team 2 (Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Casey DeSmith). The matchup would require a shootout, and five rounds worth. Team 2 eventually won the game, 1-0, with Zach Aston-Reese getting the game-deciding shootout tally.
* Goaltender Casey DeSmith was very sharp in the contest. He stopped Crosby on a semi-breakaway. Later he denied Guentzel from the slot. DeSmith also made some difficult saves look easy. He's in a battle for the backup position with the club, and he's putting forth a convincing effort.
* Crosby had the game's best scoring chance when a rebound popped onto his stick with an open net. But from behind, defenseman Juuso Riikola stick checked Crosby, denying him the shot and goal. It's been an impressive few days for the Finnish blueliner.

* Jamie Oleksiak (6-foot-7, 255 pounds) stepped up to the blue line in an attempt to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Crosby barreled at him full speed to try and clear. The two collided. Crosby ended up on his back, but managed to clear the puck. Does Crosby know this is just a scrimmage? In training camp?
* Prior to a faceoff forwards Thomas Di Pauli and Anthony Angello started exchanging cross-checks. Things got really heated. The animosity continued after the faceoff. I love seeing the intensity of guys battling for jobs.
* Jean-Sebastien Dea was a surprise choice for Team 2 to take one of the opening three shootout spots. But he didn't disappoint with a beautiful deke and score.

* The shootouts scorers were: Team 2 (Dea, Aston-Reese); Team 1 (Sprong).

Championship
With their shootout win, Team 2 entered the championship contest against Team 3 (Kris Letang, Patric Hornqvist, Matt Cullen, Tristan Jarry). Once again, a shootout was needed to decide the winner after the scoreboard read 3-3 at the end of regulation. It would be the ageless Cullen that netted the game-deciding goal, 4-3, after tying the contest late in regulation.

* Seconds after the opening faceoff, Hornqvist carried the puck to the net, tried to jam in the rebound and ended up on his face against the end boards. That's Hornqvist's game in a nutshell. It was also a precursor of things to come.
Hornqvist scored two goals in the game, both in the exact same fashion described above: carrying the puck to the net, attacking the net for a rebound, being ferocious and fearless at the crease.
* Though he doesn't show it often enough, Oleksiak can really skate well. In the scrimmage Oleksiak looked more like Letang, leading the rush, crashing the net and working low in the offensive zone. Oleksiak scored Team 2's third goal of the game pinching in to find a rebound that went top shelf.
Perhaps Oleksiak was being a little more assertive because it's only training camp. I'd love to see him play like that in the regular season.

* Cullen evened the score at 3-3 on a 2-on-1 rush with Hornqvist. Cullen carried, looked off a pass and then beat goalie John Muse five-hole. Cullen showed incredible speed and smarts to start and finish the play.
* In the waning seconds of regulation, Letang and Malkin were battling behind the net for a puck stuck on the netting. After a whistle both players cross-checked each other. Seriously, these guys were determined to win. Even the stars weren't holding back against each other.
* Goalie Anthony Peters stopped all three shooters (Malkin, Dea, Kessel) in the shootout.
* The star for Team 2 was forward Freddie Tiffels, who tallied twice. The first goal came from a nice move down the wing and then cutting to the goal. The second goal was scored off a rush down the far side where Tiffels just ripped it.