No Crosby, Malkin, Carter, Rust, Letang...No Problem
The Penguins earned a 7-1 win over Toronto with the 'next-man-up mentality'
The Penguins earned a 7-1 victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena despite being without both of their generational talents (Crosby and Malkin), veteran goal scorer (Carter), top-line winger (Rust) and franchise defenseman (Letang), all sidelined for various reasons, from injuries to COVID-19 protocol.
Drew O'Connor tallied twice; Marcus Pettersson had a goal and two assists; and Mike Matheson, Jason Zucker, Brian Boyle and Evan Rodrigues also found the back of the net. In total, 11 different Penguins got on the scoresheet while Tristan Jarry made 28 saves.
It was absolutely remarkable to watch.
"We've been in this situation before with a lot of guys missing, and we've always talked about having that next-man-up mentality," Pettersson said. "When we have a great system to rely on and everybody trusts it, I think it shows, and it did tonight."
The players have completely bought into what Mike Sullivan has been preaching, and the Penguins head coach has done a tremendous job of getting everyone on the same page of playing fast and working hard.
He gives so much credit for the players for being high-character people who came to training camp ready to contribute and do what they could to help the team win, regardless of the situation.
The Penguins knew that Crosby and Malkin would be sidelined, and other players have already been out at various points of this young season, but tonight was definitely been their biggest challenge yet in terms of the amount of star power out at the same time. And they passed with flying colors.
"No one looks for excuses," Sullivan said. "I think everyone rallies around it and tries to make a difference in the game. Different players step up at different times. For me, that's what brings teams together, that's what galvanizes groups."
Like O'Connor, the rookie forward who had played exclusively wing in his 10 appearances with Pittsburgh last season before stepping up into the second-line center role tonight, and producing his first career multi-goal game.
"It's a good opportunity for me to play a little more minutes in a game like tonight, so I tried to make the most of it, but not change the way I play," O'Connor said.
Like Rodrigues, the player Sullivan calls their 'Swiss army knife' who has become an incredibly valuable asset for the Penguins that can handle any situation, and rewarded the coaching staff for their trust in him with his performance tonight.
"I think since I've been traded here and have had the chance to play and get regular minutes, I've been able to get back to the game that made me successful and got me to be an NHL player," Rodrigues said. "Just trying to take advantage of every opportunity I get and go out and win some hockey games."
Like Pettersson, who had a career night and added a plus-5 rating to go along with his three points, and has taken his game to another level in this early part of the season.
"I think Marcus is playing with a whole lot of confidence and I think because of that, his whole overall game has just improved," Sullivan said of the young defenseman. "His gaps are better. He's making better decisions with the puck. He's more assertive in all aspects of the game, everything from his decision-making to his action."
Like the Teddy Blueger line, as the center and his wingers Zach Aston-Reese and Brock McGinn did an admirable job of shutting down Toronto's top line of Nick Ritchie, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, which opened up the game more for the rest of the Penguins. Blueger earned the player of the game helmet for his efforts.
"They have such powerful, great, skilled forwards that can really transition the puck well," Matheson said. "I thought we didn't give them too many opportunities to do that, so I think it was a huge key to the success of the game."
That's just to name a few, but overall, it was just an incredible collective effort from top to bottom. And now, the Penguins have at least a point in all five of their games to start the season, going 3-0-2 over that span.
They've also had 14 different goal scorers during that time, with only two teams in NHL history having had more unique goal scorers through their first five games of a season: the Minnesota North Stars (16 in 1983-84) and Calgary Flames (15 in 1985-86).
The Penguins have been able to find their game from the moment the puck dropped on the 2021-22 campaign despite all of the challenges, which could make them a truly dangerous club once everyone is back healthy.
"My experience of coaching this group of players in the time that I've been here is sometimes we've grown so much as a team through the injury adversity, and maybe that's the silver lining in it all," Sullivan said.
