PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – No one has played more seasons with the Penguins now than Sidney Crosby. He opened his 18th year with a new first in a 6-2 Pens win over Arizona.
It is the first time in Crosby’s career that he scored the first goal of the season.
“It took my awhile, you know,” Crosby said. “It’s nice to get a start and get a win. We are all excited to get going.”
Crosby slapped one home from the slot on a Jake Guentzel feed that he said anyone would have scored given that pass. He would later assist on a Guentzel goal in the Pens rout.
Jason Zucker scored the second goal just after a power play expired on feeds from Danton Heinen and Jeff Petry with Jeff Carter providing a goal screen. Guentzel put home a power play rebound from the goal line to make it 3-0 as the Pens had a 16-4 shots lead after one.
Arizona would score late in the second period, but the Big 3 combined to make is 4-1-Evgeni Malkin back-handed home a rebound on a power play assisted by Crosby and Letang.
“It starts with those two guys, all the time” Letang said. “They are the guys that drive the boat. Can you say that? Sail the boat. They got us going early and the team followed.”
Coyotes would score in the third to make it 4-2 as the Pens finished up with goals from Bryan Rust and Kasperi Kapanen for the final numbers.
“Most of these guys have been together for a while now,” said Pens Head Coach Mike Sullivan. “There’s a lot of familiarity on the lines-Sid and Jake have played together for a long time.
Geno and Rusty have had a fair amount of time together over the years. The other guys-Zucker has played with Malkin and Rust for most of the camp. Rakell has played with Sid and Jake for most of the camp. They’ve gotten a lot of reps in those situations.”
“We have some stability and continuity in our group and that helps from a chemistry standpoint.”
“We were just playing on our toes,” Crosby said. “First game of the year at home, I think guys were excited to get going. You could tell you had a lot of jump. Sometimes you start like that it doesn’t go in. We had some good looks and buried them.”
“I didn’t know what to expect, my first game here,” Petry said. “Makes you excited about the games to come. I thought the team played well and obvious it’s a great place to play.”
Jarry sees little early
After only seeing four shots in the first, Tristan Jarry would end up saving 26 of 28 for the game.
“I think those types of games present a unique challenge for goaltenders,” Sullivan said. “You don’t see the puck for awhile and then you get a flurry. It’s going to test their focus and test their discipline. I thought Tristan made some big saves in the second period.”
“I think the guys did a great job tonight,” Jarry said. “They were keeping guys to the outside and I was able to see a lot of shots.”
Opening Night Lineups
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker-Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen-Jeff Carter-Kasperi Kapanen
Brock McGinn-Ryan Poehling-Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-Jeff Petry
PO Joseph-Jan Rutta
Series of season firsts
· 1st Pens shot-Sidney Crosby at 1:03
· 1st Pens goal-Sidney Crosby at 1:22
· 1st Pens primary assist-Jake Guentzel at 1:22
· 1st Pens secondary assist-Kris Letang at 1:22
· 1st Tristan Jarry save-Zach Kassian at 1:51
· 1st Pens power play-too many ment at 2:06
· 1st Pens PP goal-Jake Guentzel at 5:10
· 1st 17-year goal line-Evgeni Malkin goal, Crosby & Letang with assists (19:11 of 2nd period)
· 1st Pens point-Jeff Petry
· 1st Pens penalty-PO Joseph at 13:33
· 1st Pens penalty kill-same unit
Up Next
Pens remain home to host Tampa Bay Saturday night at 7p.