Well, where do I even start with this one? Despite their overall disappointing start to the season, there is one big reason to be somewhat optimistic looking ahead - and it starts with the big guys. After a disappointing 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/it-wasnt-our-best-old-habits-doom-penguins-as-they-fall-to-rangers-4-2] on Friday last week, the Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/] responded by playing arguably their best game of the season with a 5-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/bunting-plays-hero-against-former-team-penguins-beat-leafs-5-2]. They lost another forgettable game against Colorado on Tuesday [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/penguins-surrender-three-unanswered-goals-in-third-fall-to-avs-6-2], and they looked to respond well again on Thursday in Montreal. And they sure did. The Penguins headed into the third period up, 3-2, and served a six-goal onslaught in the third period to defeat the Canadiens, 9-2, and sweep their season series. Bryan Rust recorded four points - including the first hat trick of the season for the Penguins, Rickard Rakell notched two goals and two assists, and Sidney Crosby added three assists for an 11-point effort from the first line. Kris Letang, Anthony Beauvillier, Noel Acciari, and Matt Nieto - who scored his first goal in 405 days - also got on the board for the Penguins. Tristan Jarry stopped 21 of 23 Montreal shots. "We're obviously proud of the group," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "I thought we competed hard. I thought it was a lot closer of a game than the score indicated for a lot of the game. It was a close game. Montreal's a good team, they're a proud team. I think what broke it open, and I said this to the guys after the game, was that fifth goal that we got on the power play." Rakell said it best after the game. "Everybody loves scoring goals," he said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here are some thoughts and observations after this wild win: - There is a lot of talk about the worry over Crosby's lack of production this season. I even - sort of - wrote about it this morning [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/podcasts/one-big-reason-to-be-optimistic-about-the-penguins-outlook-this-season]. But points are going to come for 87. Why? Because his linemates are going to help force his hand. As mentioned earlier, the first line of Rakell, Crosby, and Rust combined for 11 points on Thursday. Rust now has 12 goals in 24 games on the season and is scoring at a 40-goal pace. Rakell has 13 in 31 and is scoring at a 34-goal pace. There was a lot of concern about Crosby's production taking a hit after the loss of Jake Guentzel. But, if this line can dominate the way it did tonight - and they way it has at times this season - that will more than offset the loss of Guentzel for Crosby. I thought he was the best player on the ice tonight, anyway. He made a beautiful no-look backhand pass off the boards to Rust ahead of Rakell's second goal, and he was doing all the little things to help drive play that everyone is so accustomed to seeing from him: A really great effort from the first line tonight and an exceptional effort from the Penguins' captain. He tied Steve Yzerman for the seventh-most multi-point games in NHL history at 477. - Speaking of production (and the lack thereof), Kris Letang now has eight points in his last six games. Prior to this stretch, he had just six points total on the season. But, he is on pace for 16 goals, which would be a career-high. He's another guy who hasn't been putting up the production that folks are used to seeing. Once those assists start piling up - and they should, if that power play unit keeps humming like it is right now - that should also significantly help this team. The Penguins are getting a lot of depth scoring this season, and they need their top guys to start contributing more than they have been [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/podcasts/one-big-reason-to-be-optimistic-about-the-penguins-outlook-this-season]. They were really huge for the Penguins tonight. - Pittsburgh's split power play added two more goals on Thursday, both by Crosby's unit. They came into this game ranked 14th in the league in power play percentage, which has only gone up after this one. Matt Grzelcyk has been a huge part of that. He provided an assist on Rakell's power play goal in the first, and there is so much cohesion between he and Letang on the blue line with that first unit. Say what you want about the rest of his game this season. He has been really good on the power play for the Penguins. - Good for Nieto to earn that goal. Again, it was his first in 405 days and on the other end of two surgeries, and his teammates - as well as his coach - were very happy for him. "I'm pumped for him," Sullivan said. "He's been through so much just to get back. Playing condition, you think about it... he goes through two surgeries, an extended return to play process, just to get himself back into playing shape and in the lineup. When a guy like him has the opportunity to score a goal, I think it gives the team a big boost because they know how hard he works, and they know the type of person he is and what he brings to the team." - Malkin's line was really the only one that struggled at times on Thursday. While I understand the want to reward Michael Bunting for good play - he's second in team scoring since Nov. 5 - what Bunting had on that third line with Blake Lizotte and Anthony Beauvillier was really materializing into something special for the Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/podcasts/blt-line-sizzling-may-be-third-line-answer-for-the-penguins]. Tonight, the Penguins deployed Bunting, Malkin, and Tomasino together, while Cody Glass centered a third line with Drew O'Connor and Beauvillier and Lizotte centered the fourth with Nieto and Acciari. I liked the small sample of Glass and Tomasino with Malkin. I'd love for them to give that combination a little bit of ice time to see how it develops, and I really think they should keep that "BLT" third line intact. They haven't been together for a few games, but it was working. - That is now no goals in 25 games for O'Connor. I'm not sure what's going on with his game. But he isn't producing, and he has lost the puck in key moments on several occasions over the past several games. Some fourth-line minutes might help take some pressure off and get him to focus on other things. But if he can't come around soon, I'd love to see Jesse Puljujarvi get some minutes in his place for a few games. - The Penguins head to Ottawa on Saturday to face a Senators team that is 13-13-2 and will be coming off the second of a back-to-back. Ottawa plays Carolina on Friday, and as of Thursday, they sit two points behind the Penguins with three games in hand. Every game matters throughout the season, but when the NHL clock turns to mid-December, this is when every single game really starts to count. Especially for teams vying for wild card spots. Ottawa is 5-4-1 in their last 10 games and has some legitimate talent up front and on their blue line. Even if they're coming off a back-to-back, the Penguins would do best to avoid underestimating this team. Hopefully, they can carry some of this scoring momentum into that Saturday tilt. I imagine that with Carolina the night before, the Penguins are going to see Anton Forsberg instead of Linus Ullmark. Don't count the Penguins out yet. This team can score up and down its lineup [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/podcasts/one-big-reason-to-be-optimistic-about-the-penguins-outlook-this-season]. This season is going to come down to whether or not the goaltending can deliver and the team defense can continue to improve even marginally. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwNjYwNDIwMDI3OTUwOTI5/thnpitbanner.png]
