Training Camp Takeaways: Preseason Game 4

The Penguins played their fourth of six preseason contests on Sunday afternoon against Detroit. The Red Wings came away with a 3-2 victory. Here are the biggest takeaways from the game…

* Derick Brassard has had some tough luck with injury and illness since joining the Penguins, but hopefully that's all behind him now. After being out sick for the first five days of training camp, Brassard returned to practice on Sept. 19 and made his preseason debut today. And he didn't appear to have any lingering effects from the illness, as Brassard was a factor all over the ice.
Brassard, who gave credit to linemate Bryan Rust for creating space with his speed, was always in the right spots and the puck just kept finding his stick. That resulted in a few good scoring chances - including a mini breakaway - and some good setups for his teammates. It's definitely a great sign to see Brassard come up with such a strong performance after a frustrating start to camp.

* In Teddy Blueger's first two preseason appearances, he quietly took care of his own end of the ice, as he was strong on draws and tended to be the first player over the boards on the penalty kill. Today, he showcased his overall two-way game, as not only was he strong defensively, he was good offensively - scoring a beautiful breakaway goal and nearly getting another when he rang a shot off the post on a power play.
With the depth Pittsburgh has had at center, it's been tough for Blueger - who scored 21 goals last year with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - to crack the lineup in Pittsburgh. But he's developed his game nicely since turning pro at the end of the 2015-16 season, and he's a player that is loved by the coaching staff and management. He's smart enough and defensively responsible enough to play at the NHL level, and even if he doesn't make the opening night roster, that doesn't mean he won't get a chance with Pittsburgh at some point this season.
"I thought Teddy had a real solid game tonight," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "We're very familiar with his game. He's gotten better every year since he's been here. He's a real solid two-way center ice man. He's smart. He has good awareness defensively. He's a pretty good faceoff guy and he's a guy that we're really excited about."
* Blueger's line with Thomas Di Pauli and Ryan Haggerty was terrific today. Haggerty, who is on an AHL deal, has been a consistent offensive threat all training camp, as he scored a few times during the intra-squad scrimmages and has two goals in three preseason appearances. It's not easy to score goals in the pros, but Haggerty has clearly shown a knack for doing so and that finishing ability could serve him well in the future.
Meanwhile, Di Pauli had his chances as well, and finished the game with two assists. Any time I've watched him during development camps, rookie tournaments and training camps, he's stood out with his speed to go along with decent hands. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a look at some point this season.
* Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry split the game, and both played pretty solid in what Sullivan called a sloppy game. I thought Jarry was particularly good, as he didn't allow a goal against and made some terrific saves on some tough scoring chances. He was also aggressive when it came to playing the puck, sending a pass all the way to the other blue line to spring Blueger and Sam Miletic on a 2-on-1 rush.