PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – A first game in two weeks and the Pens score a half-dozen in the first period and lead San Jose after 20 minutes, 6-1.
Pens get on the board 1:03 into the game after a beautiful pass by Marcus Pettersson deep in his own end off the glass and hit a sprinting Evan Rodrigues in stride at mid-ice. Rodrigues confidently waits as he slides to his right and fires one past James Reimer for a 1-0 lead.
Sidney Crosby with a nifty entry pass to Bryan Rust to enter the zone, Rust skates to the right side of the net passes through the goal mouth to Jake Guentzel near the left dot and Guentzel buries a goal in his return, 2-0 with 3:12 gone in the first quarter.
Rodrigues skates in front of the net and flips a backhand up and over Reimer 59 seconds later off a pass from another solid free agent signing, Danton Heinen, to make it 3-0 as Rodrigues now has a career-high dozen goals.
Along with Guentzel returning on Sunday, so was Rust, who gathers a blocked Kris Letang shot about 15 feet in front of Reimer and drills it home high, stick-side to make it 4-0, still only 6:09 played in the game.
Sharks get on the board as Alexander Barbanov deflected a shot to the net with the shaft of his stick, collects it and taps the puck past Casey DeSmith to make it 4-1.
Pens weren’t done, a first NHL goal in his first NHL game for 24-year-old forward Kasper Bjorkqvist. A dirty goal at that, firing a shot off Reimer that crawled over the goal line to make it 5-1. Radim Zohorna, playing in his first NHL game this year, with the primary assist.
Like Rodrigues, Rust would add a second goal in the period. The 29-year-old shoots from the blue line and it deflects of Barbanov and bounces in for a 6-1 Pens lead.
Every Penguin but Drew O’Connor, Zach Aston-Reese and Brock McGinn had a point in the first period with Rodrigues, Rust, Pettersson and Heinen with multiple points.
Pens haven’t won in their last four meetings against San Jose, but off to an impressive start.