Musings: DET 7, PIT 4 (Preseason Game 2)

Although the Penguins dropped their second preseason game to the Detroit Red Wings 7-4, some prospects got to wear black and gold for the first time, including 2026 NHL Draft picks Liam and Markus Ruck.

“It was fun. Obviously, would’ve liked to win it, but it was cool being out there with this jersey on and being out there with the guys,” Liam said. “It was pretty cool.”

Both of the twins made the most of their opportunity in this shortened preseason, with Liam notching two assists, while Markus picked up the primary assist on a beautiful give-and-go with Rutger McGroarty.

“I think Rutger made a great play to me there, and he kind of jumped back door. There was a lot of room for me to give it to him,” Markus said. “Liam started off well on the entry and forced their D-man to turn it over. (McGroarty) was hard on his stick to finish it.”

Liam, who was drafted in the first round (22 overall), and Markus, drafted in the second round (39 overall), have been taking everything in this past week at Penguins training camp and are learning a lot from the veterans in the locker room. 

“I think just trying to pick up the little things they do,” Markus said. “Obviously, they're doing everything to get to the level they're at. Just try to pay attention to their details on and off the ice, see what they're eating, see how they're treating their body. It's super important, especially at the highest levels. Just trying to try to be a sponge.

With a lot of emotions leading into this game for both of the brothers, they found their groove as the game progressed.

“It’s a new game playing against pros, but I think we adjusted to it pretty well,” Liam said. “By the end of the game, we were a little more comfortable and confident out there. It was cool to be out there with those guys.”

Liam and Markus played alongside Mikhail Ilyn on the team’s fourth line, while Liam also served on the team’s second power play unit. For Markus, he led the entire team with four shots on goal.

Overall, it was a very special but important night for the Ruck brothers, who made strong impacts with limited ice time.

“I thought they did a good job,” Head Coach Dan Muse said. “With Markus, it’s always tough, and this falls on me, when you don’t have special team (time), sometimes you can lose rhythm. It’s harder to stay engaged in the game. But I thought both of them did a really good job in staying engaged and staying ready for when their name was called.”

“I thought they made some plays. I thought they were working on both ends of the ice. They have good energy to them, but I think it was a really good experience for them to get out of it.”

Here are some notes on the more veteran players.

After morning skate, Rickard Rakell and I were talking about how Bryan Rust set the bar high with a three-point night in Monday’s matchup. Rakell joked that it was a tough act to follow, but he would try his best.

He made a valiant effort in that regard while wearing an A for Pittsburgh, as Kris Letang and Rust did not dress for this game, scoring a timely goal to help swing momentum back onto the Penguins’ side.

It came off a beautiful pass from Sam Girard, who is feeling much more comfortable in his surroundings after being acquired from Colorado at the end of February.

“It's just fun to come here and know everything, and not to have to think when you jump on the ice,” Girard said. “All those little like details, like the name of every faceoff, the breakouts, the guys’ nicknames, too. All those little things that make a big difference. Got here with more confidence. Great group of guys here, great staff, and very excited to be back.”

Nick Robertson earned the secondary assist on that tally as part of a two-point night. Rakell had said he was excited to play a game with Robertson, who has been his linemate through training camp thus far. “Just a very fast player, great shot, good hands, he can do it all,” Rakell said.

Robertson finished with two points, and his shorthanded goal was one for the highlight reel. It highlighted the qualities Rakell mentioned, as Robertson wheeled around a Red Wings defender, went backhand-forehand and threaded the puck past John Gibson.

“I think you saw a lot of what he’s already shown throughout training camp. Just the speed, the tenacity, and the ability to hunt pucks,” Muse said. “Obviously the short-handed goal is nice to see, but from what we’ve seen so far, he’s shown the ability to make those reads defensively. The speed, tenacity, and quickness that he plays with is a major factor and big part of his game.”

Throughout Tuesday’s game, both teams showed elements of physicality and had several scrums form after whistles. When Sidney Crosby found himself caught in some altercations, several defensemen came in to support their captain: Ilya Solovyov, Declan Carlile, and Kaeden Korczak.

“I think you want to be making sure that you’re sticking up and protecting your teammates, especially your captain,” Muse said. “I think you want to be hard to play against. There are different ways that shows throughout the course of the game, but you want to be hard to play against.”

Solovyov was brought into the Penguins organization midway through last season and trained in Pittsburgh throughout the offseason. While being physical is part of his game, he moved the puck extremely well Tuesday night and earned an assist on Rakell’s goal.

“I’ve been staying physical all summer working with the coaches here in the gym,” Solovyov said. “On the ice, the focus was having quick feet and a quick first touch (with the puck). Hockey has become really fast, and you have to think quicker. That’s what I try to do.”

As for sticking up for his captain, even if it’s a preseason game, Solovyov carries that responsibility.

“I have to defend him because he’s a critical guy for our team who makes a (positive) result,” Solovyov said. “There are a lot of guys that we have to defend because the teams know who (our) superstars are, and they try to get under their skin. Part of my job is to settle these guys down.”

Arturs Silovs was in goal for the entirety of his preseason debut, saying afterward that he wanted to be better when it came to his rebound control.

“But yeah, I think just getting in the game felt like decent enough, and I think just building from here,” Silovs said.

Muse said that the Penguins gave up a lot of high-quality chances, which isn’t ideal, especially since goalies need more time than anyone to get back into the rhythm of games.

“We have more games coming up. We have more practice time,” Muse said. “Arty showed last year what he can do in this league. So, it's not like you're suddenly forgetting about that. He’s a guy who I think his game came a long way last year, and I believe it's going to continue to go a long way moving forward.”