The Penguins knew they weren’t good enough in the first two periods of their game against Calgary on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena, entering the second intermission trailing 1-0 on a late power-play goal from the Flames.
“I think we were a bit sloppy, we weren’t quite making good decisive plays,” winger Bryan Rust said. “I think we all knew that… they scored that late one, we came in here and I think everybody just knew we had better.”
Pittsburgh regrouped and responded, with Rust opening the scoring just 18 seconds into the final frame, his first of two goals in an eventual 5-2 victory for the Penguins.
“The first line, they jump right away and score a huge goal. It’s very important in a game like this,” Evgeni Malkin said. “It’s a lucky bounce off the boards and Rusty scored from behind the net. After, we feel it, we score again and control the whole game.”
Reilly Smith scored his second in as many games just 41 seconds in; Jake Guentzel got his first of the year; Malkin stayed hot with his sixth point of the year; and Rust rounded out the scoring with an empty-netter. Alex Nedeljkovic made 34 saves in his Penguins debut.
“It builds confidence, it feels good,” he said after putting together a performance that earned the praise of his teammates. “Obviously you want to have a good showing for them. This was my first game action with the group of guys, I didn't get many looks during the preseason. So, it was good to get out there and have a good showing.”
Mike Sullivan discussed the play of his goaltender and more after the game, with Pittsburgh sweeping its first back-to-back set of the year following a 4-0 win in Washington on Friday.
How key was Alex just in terms of keeping things in line for you guys to come back and win?
“I thought he was solid. I thought he was solid all night. He made some big saves for us at some key times. I thought there was good goaltending at both ends. In the first period I thought (Jacob) Markstrom made a lot of really nice saves, especially on the power play. We had a lot of really good chances, and he made some nice saves and Ned did the same for us at our end.”
What went into your team stepping up in the third period?
“I think we did a better job just in the puck battles. Give (Calgary) credit. They're a quick team and they're strong on the puck, and their D are very active. They're active on the walls, on the pinches. They really make it difficult for you to gain access out of your zone and those wall places are so important. I thought in the third period, we were much stiffer on the puck, and that was something that we talked about in between periods - is just making better decisions on the entries. If there's no ice to play on, we can't get stubborn, we got to put pucks behind them and then we got to get our noses over them and hang on to them. I thought we did a pretty good job, I mean, the opening faceoff is a great example. I thought (Sidney Crosby) was so stiff on that puck, just taking it to the net. We ended up scoring off that opening draw and we got a lot of juice from that, that’s for sure.”
Are Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin leading by example?
“They're obviously elite players and they still have elite game. Both of them have the ability to elevate their game at any particular time throughout the course of games to try to help us win. I thought the last two nights, both Geno and Sid have been dominant at certain times throughout the course of the game. They're all over the score sheet both nights, but they're doing a lot more than that. They're defending hard, they're doing a lot of little things. Last night, on Reilly Smith’s goal in the third period, it starts with just a great backcheck from Geno. Just a great track from behind. He strips the puck and then makes an unbelievable pass to Reilly, and Reilly finishes. I think it's a lot of those little things. I thought in the 5-on-6, Sid’s line was terrific just defending in our end. Our guys are blocking shots - Jake, Rusty, Sid - and then our other guys are doing the same thing. Noel Acciari and Matt Nieto and players like that are just paying the price to win, and that's what it takes to win in this league. But I think I don't think there's any question that it starts with our leadership, and these guys are leading by example.”
Why have Geno and Smith clicked almost instantly?
“We were hoping that pair could find something, and that's one of the reasons why we put them together right from the first day. We felt with Reilly’s hockey IQ, he has the ability to read off of Geno on both sides of the puck. He’s a good enough player offensively, he thinks it well enough offensively, and has enough finish to his game that I think he can complement Geno in that regard. But he also has great awareness and recognition skills. He recognizes when the line is vulnerable, and he takes a defensive posture. We were hoping that they were going to develop some chemistry. I think Geno, as far as when he moves the puck and when he chooses to carry, he's such an instinctive player. He just takes what the game gives him and what he sees. If he sees something and it's a pass, he moves it. If he doesn't, he has the ability to carry and change his angle in order to try to open up something for his linemates. I think Geno is playing just a great game right now at this beginning part of the season. He's just all over the puck. I think he's playing with tons of energy and a lot of confidence, and when he's like that, he’s as dominant a player as there is in the league.”
