Here's the workflow that Pittsburgh used…
Danton Heinen-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker-Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust
Brock McGinn-Jeff Carter-Kasperi Kapanen
Ryan Poehling-Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-Jeff Petry
P.O Joseph-Jan Rutta
Tristan Jarry started in goal and kept his team within striking distance in the first as Columbus carried play. At one point, the Blue Jackets had a 10-0 edge in shots, but the Penguins managed to get out of the opening frame down just 2-0.
They turned it around in the second period, emerging with a 3-3 tie on goals from Archibald, Rutta (the second in as many games for the defensive blueliner) and Heinen. From there, the captain took over, netting the game-winner. Heinen got his second and McGinn rounded out the scoring as the Penguins improved to 4-0-1 on the season. Afterward, head coach Mike Sullivan shared his insights on the game.
On the factors behind the start, and what changed throughout the course of the game: "Well, I just think we weren't prepared to play. In the first period we got totally outplayed by Columbus. I think I'm probably stating the obvious when I say that. I give our players a lot of credit, I thought we responded after that. I thought we were the better team in the second and the third, but certainly the first period, they were the better team. I think that's an area where we need to improve."
On what kind of spark they got from Archibald, who got Pittsburgh's first goal:"Huge. I thought he had a real solid game. He brings a ton of energy. That's the game we know he's capable of bringing to our team. And when he does that, I think his energy is contagious. I thought he did a terrific job with his physical play, just getting in on the forecheck. He had a couple of good hits, drew a penalty, got us on the power play. He scores a goal, obviously, but I just thought his energy was a big part of us getting into the hockey game.
On scoring six goals in four of their first five games and what it says about this team:"I think we have a lot of capable guys. I know we're going to score goals. We've got a lot of guys that have offensive instincts and that are talented in that area of the game. We just have to make sure that we play the game the right way. We don't want to get into track meets every night. I think when we play a calculated game, when we play smart hockey, I think we can be hard to play against, also. I didn't think we were very hard to play against in the first period tonight. I thought the second and third, we were much tougher to play against just by competing hard on pucks, winning wall battles, taking care of the net front, tracking back. Just our transition defense when the puck turns over, those first five strides and just getting yourself in a defensive posture is so important. Those are the things, I think, that add up to consistent winning. I think the fact that we've been able to create the offensive production that we have to this point is encouraging. We believe we have a lot of guys that can put the puck in the net, and hopefully that'll help us keep up somewhat of a balanced attack here."
On Tristan's play tonight and his overall start to the season:"I think he's just picked up where he's left off. Just real consistent play. He's got a calm demeanor back there. He plays the puck really well. He helps us on our breakouts when he gets to pucks like he does. He's making good decisions there, also. But I just think his calm demeanor, his compete level, has been really high. He's seeing the puck well, he's making timely saves for us throughout the course of the game that gives us an opportunity to win hockey games."
