PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The Pens led 6-0 after two on Tuesday only to allow 6 goals, but win. They responded for a 5-1 lead after two on Thursday night, also against New Jersey, and finished the game with a 5-1 win.
"It started with our captain," said head coach Mike Sullivan. "He was terrific all night long. We are going to continue to play on our toes. We are not just going to sit on a lead and get on our heels and allow teams to come at us."
What did the Pens do differently—details, competed on pucks, didn't put teammates in difficult positions, make it hard on the Devils.
"Getting out of our zone," said forward Teddy Blueger. "I thought the wall play was pretty good in the third. We kinda limited their zone time. We were harder on pucks, winning more battles."
Sullivan made the decision to go with Tristan Jarry after giving up all of those goals, two days earlier. Jarry could have been the number one star of the game. He wasn't, everyone loves goals. Jarry would finish with 30 saves.
"That's what you love to see from your goaltender," Crosby said. "Those guys are pretty tough between the ears. Just being able to restart and refresh. I think everybody as a group had to do that, but when you see your goaltender do that right away and make some big saves early. It sets the tone for everyone."
"He was great," Blueger said. "He bailed us out on the PK a couple of times. He's been great all year."
Sidney Crosby was flying in the first, got a loose puck knocked free by Bryan Rust to wrist it home for a 1-0 lead 41 seconds into the game.
"That's when you are going to be the most fresh, on that first shift," Crosby said. "The adrenaline is flowing. You are trying to set the tempo for how you want to play for the rest of the game. Whether it turns into goals. That may not always be the case."
"Coming off of last game we weren't happy with our third period. We just wanted to have a good start. Get in the right frame of mind. It was nice to get one early."
"He set the tone for the rest of the team," Blueger said of Crosby. "The rest of the guys followed his lead."
Devils brought some drama with a goal to tie it before defenseman Cody Ceci scored from the blue line at @17:46 of the first for a 2-1 lead after one.
Killing a couple of penalties, the Pens would then add to their lead after Crosby stole the puck in his own zone, ahead to Jake Guentzel. He patiently waited on the 2-on-1 to feed Rust for his 19th goal of the year, 3-1 Pens.
Kasperi Kapanen would score a goal in his return game outracing the Devils to make it 4-1.
"Pretty good, not going to lie," Kapanen said of his goal. "I kind of saw the play developing. They gave it to me with speed. Their D man was kind of standing still there and I thought I would take it wide and try that quick shot 5-hole. It worked this time."
"I thought he had a strong game," Sullivan said of Kapanen. "His speed is so noticeable. He just backs teams off with his speed in the neutral zone."
Blueger scored shorthanded taking it about 170 feet for a 5-1 lead. It never really was a problem after that.
Pens tied with the Islanders a point behind the Caps for the lead in the MassMutual East Division. All have 9 games left. Boston is 4 out of first with 11 games to play.
Up Next
The final game of the year against the Devils Saturday at 12:30p. The Pens are 5-2 against New Jersey this season.
