Defenseman Owen Pickering and forward Vasily Ponomarev made their Penguins' debuts Saturday and left their mark
For the first time in quite a long time, the Pittsburgh Penguins had a number of youthful legs in their lineup during their Saturday tilt against the San Jose Sharks.
And their two youngest - and two newest - players made an impression.
Rookie defenseman Owen Pickering registered his first point during his NHL debut on a first-period tally by Jesse Puljujarvi, and Vasily Ponomarev shone in all three zones as the Penguins bested the Sharks in a shootout, 4-3.
Bryan Rust kicked off the scoring just one minute and one second into the game, and Sidney Crosby scored his 599th career goal to put the Penguins up 3-0 in the second period before San Jose stormed back to tie the game and force overtime.
Crosby, Anthony Beauvillier, and Evgeni Malkin scored in the shootout to secure the win for the Penguins, who iced seven skaters who are age 26 or younger. Pittsburgh needed to make some changes to their lineup because what they had going previously clearly wasn't working, and that youth helped them Saturday when Pickering and Ponomarev were iced in favor of Ryan Graves and Valtteri Puustinen.
"We felt it was time to make those changes and give guys opportunities to play," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "We're not satisfied with where we're at, and performance matters. We're going to give guys opportunities to play. If they can make an impact and they can help our team win, they're going to play."
- Both of the rookies were good tonight. But Pickering was especially impressive.
He made a beautiful cross-ice pass to Drew O'Connor, whose shot set up Jesse Puljujarvi's finish for a goal. He looked poised and confident all night long on the offensive blue line:
But what impressed me the most was his defensive play. He had some good reads, his gap control was solid, and he even made a few key blocks on the penalty kill.
Pickering's defensive acumen was an area in which the Penguins wanted to see improvement throughout his development. Those gains definitely showed on Saturday.
"I thought 'Pick' had a great game," Sullivan said. "I thought he played with confidence, he defended hard, he had a great block on one of the penalty kills, a blocked shot. That was a courageous play. I thought he made a great play on Jesse Puljujarvi's goal on that backside seam pass, that backside flank. He didn't play a reckless game, he played a calculated game. And he played with confidence. I thought he had a great game."
Just a really, really impressive debut from him. It's safe to say that he's earned more opportunities in the lineup, and I do think he'll stick around, at least, for now.
- I do want to talk about Ponomarev for a second as well, because he was also very good in this game.
His work in all three zones is commendable. He uses his speed advantageously, he is really solid in the defensive zone, and, perhaps, the best thing about him is that he gets pucks to the net every opportunity he is able to.
His energy is palpable. Like Pickering, he's earned more looks.
- I've said this for three straight games now. But the Penguins' top line is really, really good right now.
Despite being mired in an eight-game goalless drought, Rickard Rakell is doing a lot of the little things to drive play and possession in the offensive zone, and he's playing well defensively. He could've scored about 10 times over the last two games. Anthony Beauvillier's speed is aiding the forecheck and creating opportunities, especially around the net front.
And Crosby is flying. He was especially noticeable tonight.
After scoring his 599th goal in the second period, you could tell that Crosby wanted that next one. I haven't seen him so shoot-first in a long time, as he didn't pass up any opportunities to fire at the net in the late stages of the game.
He wants so badly to get over the hump and score that goal. He was shot out of a cannon in this one, and if he plays this way again on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, I'll be more surprised if he doesn't score it then.
- This was a solid lineup from top to bottom tonight. Matt Nieto is skating well in just his second game after missing an year, and the fourth line of him, Ponomarev, and Noel Acciari generated some energy and opportunities.
"I thought Poni was good on that line," Sullivan said. "He kinda fits playing with those two guys. He's tenacious, he's a dog on a bone on the puck, he's hard on pucks, and he checks well. So, I think with "Cookie" and "Niets", with those two guys in particular, it seems like it's a better fit there. That line's got a bit of an identity, and we can use them in a checking capacity, whether it be d-zone starts or momentum opportunities for us."
The top-six is also really clicking right now. This third line, however, is pretty intriguing. This is the second straight game in which they've performed well and helped drive play in the offensive zone.
It's only been two games, but I'm still not sold on O'Connor centering that line. He's been shaky, to say the least, on defense this season, and I'm not sure he's the best option.
The only change I'd make right now is switching Poulin to center. I think he's got a better overall game, despite the fact that he's been playing right wing for most of the season, even in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
I'd love to see a Puljujarvi-Ponomarev-Poulin line eventually, but it's probably not worth messing up the chemistry the other three have built right now.
- I know the Penguins brought home the win. But they still blew a three-goal lead.
Obviously, walking out with the "W" will leave a better taste in their mouths. But they still shouldn't feel particularly good about this game. San Jose, who started the season at 0-7-2, really gave it to them in the late stages of the second and for, basically, the entire third period.
Goaltending is just not good enough right now. But, as usual, the Penguins folded defensively, too. Michael Bunting and Jack St. Ivany were out to lunch on the tying goal, and careless hockey in a general sense is what led to them squandering the lead yet again.
It was nice to see them dominate the overtime period and seal the win in the shootout. But they still need to be much, much better than this, especially against one of the few teams that are worse than them in the league standings right now.
