The right guys answered the call as prospects from the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Boston Bruins.
The 2022-23 season kicked off for the Pittsburgh Penguins with an appearance at the annual Prospects Challenge hosted by the Buffalo Sabres.
The Penguins played one game in the tournament and took on prospects from the Boston Bruins; one of two teams the Athletic believes has a worse pipeline than the Pens.
Special teams and the Penguins top tier prospects made the biggest difference in the 6-4 victory.
Five of the Penguins goals came on the power play and Nathan Legare found himself in the middle of a number of scuffles with Bruins players.
The top forward line of Sam Poulin, Filip Hallander, and Valtteri Puustinen all capitalized on extra man opportunities giving the Penguins an early 3-0 lead.
Those three names are ones that Penguins fans should keep an eye on as they regularly appear near the top of prospects rankings.
Hallander found the back of the net again on the power play in the second period for his second of the day and a 4-0 lead for the Penguins.
Poulin chalked up an assist for his third point of the match, but defenseman Colin Swoyer was having a great game of his own.
Swoyer, a recent college signing from Michigan Tech, assisted on each of the Penguins first four goals.
Bruins prospects battled back to tie the game up at four but that would be all they could muster in the closing minutes.
Corey Andonovski scored with just under 11 minutes remaining, and would go on to be credited with the game winning goal.
After drawing multiple penalties and getting involved in a few scrums all game, Legare got the upper hand on the Bruins tapping in an insurance goal with about five minutes left to play.
It was important for the top prospects like Poulin, Hallander, and Legare to be noticeable against the Bruins, and they did just that.
There is always talk about how thin the Penguins prospect pool is, but the right guys have already began rising to the occasion.
Penguins prospects will return to Pittsburgh to complete their rookie camp.
Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more!
- Subscribe to Inside the Penguins on YouTube
- Follow Inside the Penguins on Twitter: @InsidePenguins