PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pens played their first exhibition game with their main unit. Rickard Rakell scored, Erik Karlsson played his first game-some takeaways from the 3-1 win over Buffalo.
Jarry sharp
Only a breakaway from 6’6” Tage Thompson got past the Pens goalie as he stopped 26 shots on Thursday night.
“It was a good start,” Jarry said. “We have a lot of new guys. Learning the guys, learning the calls, having a little bit of new personnel, it takes a game or two to get used to what guys want to do and what their tendencies might be. It was a step in the right direction.”
Jarry said its totally different circumstance this season in that he comes in healthy. He said he’s happy and hasn’t felt this good in over a year.
“I noticed he feels healthy, he feels strong and obviously that was a struggle last year,” said Pens head coach Mike Sullivan. “We chased it most of the year. It was a tough challenge on all of us, hardest on him. We like how he looks right now. I thought he had a solid effort tonight. He looks strong in the net. We hope to continue to give him more reps and he can build on it.”
Power play
It was the first game for the new power play that includes 100-point defenseman Erik Karlsson with Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Rakell for the injured Jake Guentzel. The group was 0-3 getting 3:54 of time.
“The scheme isn’t a whole lot different, the personnel make it a little bit different,” Sullivan said. “To have two defensemen on it is a little bit of a different look, a different feel. Erik and Tanger are both very active. I think you are going to see a lot of movement from those guys. We are trying to give them a framework that allow them to be predictable for one another. We are also trying to give them some latitude and act on their instincts.”
“It was good,” Crosby said. “Ideally I would have won a few more faceoffs and get a little more zone time. He makes great plays and has a lot of poise. He can make plays out of nothing. It doesn’t seem like there is a lot there and he finds a seam or sees an opening.
He’s really good there.”
“It’s a matter of getting in games here, getting timing and a feel for everything.”
First for Erik
“I wasn’t too weirded out,” Karlsson said of his first game as a Penguin and first in his new home. “It was definitely a little bit of a different feeling being on the other side. It feels pretty natural to me actually, ever since I got here three weeks ago I’ve been welcomed in the best way possible by everyone. Just feels like home right from the start. I would say overall it felt pretty normal and pretty good.”
Rak it up
With Guentzel out, not only is Rakell taking his spot on the power play, but also on the top line. The 30-year-old had a goal on two shots working with Crosby and Bryan Rust.
“He’s a really smart player,” Crosby said. “He’s got a great shot. He can do a lot of things. We’ve played together a fair amount and generated some good chances. With Rust, you know how he is going to play every night. I thought he looked really good and generated a lot of chances. Hopefully we get more and more sharp as the games go on.”
OC pair
Drew O’Connor continued his impressive preseason with a pair of goals, the first even-strength on a re-direct from Lars Eller for the game-winner in the third period. Really it was a good possession by that line.
“I thought the extended zone time. the whole shift was a really good shift,” Sullivan said. “They did a great job of just possessing the puck and wearing them down and ultimately they were able to score.”
Sullivan said that third line that also included Matt Nieto is a conscientious group. He said Nieto and O’Connor bring speed and Eller is a really smart two-way centerman.
“He’s just a cerebral player and he’s good on both sides of the puck,” Sullivan said of Eller. “We are looking forward to watching them moving forward.
Line combinations
Rakell-Crosby-Rust
Reilly Smith-Malkin-Alex Nylander
O’Connor-Eller-Nieto
Austin Wagner-Noel Acciari-Jeff Carter
Ryan Graves-Letang
Marcus Pettersson-Karlson
Ryan Shea-Chad Ruhwedel
Up Next
Pens are back home Monday night at 6p hosting Ottawa.