It wasn't perfect, but the Pittsburgh Penguins again found a way to fend off a slow start for a big victory.
For the second straight game, the Pittsburgh Penguins did not get the start they had hoped for.
While they were able to manage a lead against the Los Angeles Kings, the Penguins had to crawl their way back into the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The matchup in Columbus got off to such a lopsided start that when the Blue Jackets scored their first goal, the Penguins were yet to record a shot.
At the end of the first period in Columbus, the Jackets were leading 2-0 and leading in shots 17-7.
The Penguins were able to put themselves together for the final 40 minutes and take a 6-3 victory while rifling off 39 shots.
Timely goals from Josh Archibald, Sidney Crosby, and a pair from Danton Heinen were difference makers for the Pens skaters.
Tristan Jarry also shut it down for the back half of the game; in the full 60 he stopped 29 of the 32 shots he faced to maintain his perfect record.
Crosby noted that Jarry made a number of huge save to keep the Penguins in the game and giving them the chance to win.
“Jars made some big saves.”
Head coach Mike Sullivan said that the Penguins as a group got better as the game went on and not regressing into common mistakes.
“I didn’t think we were very hard to play against in the first period,” Sullivan said. “I thought in the second and third, we were much tougher.”
One of the biggest problems that couldn’t be kicked by the Penguins last season was the inability at times to perform the whole 60 minutes of a game.
They showed against the Blue Jackets that if you’re going to take part of the game off you better make it in the beginning so you can finish strong.
It’s less than ideal, but it’s exactly what the Penguins did; not a great start that gets capped off with a win in dominating fashion.
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