PK Sets the Tone in Well-Deserved Win
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Pittsburgh's penalty kill - which went 5-for-5 in the game - set the tone in this win. It was called into action just nine seconds into play, when Kris Letang sailed a puck over the glass. Shortly after that, Jeff Carter was called for high sticking, sending St. Louis and their third-ranked power play to a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:34 minutes.
But Jarry and his teammates - primarily Brian Dumoulin, Brian Boyle, Teddy Blueger and Rust - did some phenomenal work to get the job done. From there, the Penguins started to take over.
"Obviously it's very quickly into the game, and things can go south very quickly if we don't get it done there," Rust said. "I think everyone did a really good job, Jars made some big saves. And I think from there, we just gained momentum, and I think we were pretty good throughout the whole game."
All season long, the coaching staff has been preaching about creating offense from their defense, and that's exactly what they did tonight. Whether it was making sure they took care of their own end zone first before advancing the puck up the ice as quick as possible, or getting actual goals from their blueliners, Pittsburgh's collective effort helped them build a 2-0 lead.
The Penguins were especially dominant in the second period, outshooting the Blues 10-1 at one point. But as head coach Mike Sullivan said, give St. Louis credit - they're a good team that pushed back and was able to get a goal at the end of the middle frame, and one at the start of the final frame to tie it up.
"But the most encouraging part for me was when they tied the game up, it didn't affect our mindset just as far as playing on our toes and getting back to the game that we think gives us the best chance to win," Sullivan said. "I thought we just got right back to work and just tried to keep playing the game and play to our strengths."
Overall, the Penguins had plenty of zone time and shots, as they finished with a 45-25 edge in that department - and they could have had even more. Sullivan said that was something they discussed on the bench all night long, reiterating to the players that putting the puck on net creates a next-play opportunity.
While Jarry didn't face as much rubber, he was still fantastic when called upon, particularly in the shootout. He turned aside all four Blues players that he faced to help the Penguins procure two points on a night they deserved them both.
"It definitely feels good to play a good, hard game, control the game for most of the time, deal with a little bit of adversity, but still get the win," Rust said. "I think that's gonna be big for our group, especially down the stretch here. As we kind of lead into the postseason, there's going to be times where we play great and things aren't going our way, or things aren't going as good as we think, and we got to just keep fighting. I think that's what we did tonight, and it was great."
OTHER THOUGHTS
- THIRTY AND THRIVING
Jarry became the fourth goaltender in Penguins history to win 30 games in a single season with the team, joining Marc-Andre Fleury, Tom Barrasso and Matt Murray.
"It's something that you don't really think about, but when it happens, it's pretty cool that it happens," Jarry said. "It's kind of like a little milestone, but I think there's still a lot of work and still a lot of games left. So hope to have a lot more."
Sullivan said he couldn't be happier for his goaltender, who's worked extremely hard coming into this season under difficult circumstances with how the last one ended.
"I have so much admiration for how he's approached this whole season," Sullivan said. "He has a certain look in his eye that he's determined to prove people wrong, that he's a legit No. 1 goaltender in this league. We believe in him, and he's done a great job for us."
- NO. 2 GETS. NO. 3
While Ruhwedel is from California, his wife Elle is from the St. Louis area. They got married here in 2018 and live here during the offseasons. All of his in-laws, along with some other family members and friends, were in the crowd at Enterprise Center to see Ruhwedel open the scoring.
His goal gave him a new career high of three, all of which have come in the last 13 games. In that span dating back to Feb. 15, only five NHL defensemen have more goals than him, per Penguins PR.
- LINEUP CHANGES
The Penguins stuck with the same forward lines from Tuesday's 4-1 loss in Nashville, but switched up their D pairs. Marcus Pettersson slotted back in after being a healthy scratch for the past two games, moving onto a pairing with Ruhwedel. Brian Dumoulin and Kris Letang were reunited, while Matheson skated with John Marino.
