PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Evgeni Malkin is not yet back, leading goal scorer Jake Guentzel remains out. Doesn’t mean the Pens can’t score pretty goals, they did a few times for a 5-2 victory against Montreal.
From Kasperi Kapanen’s two-handed, waist-high baseball bunt over Canadiens goalie Jake Allen to an Alexander Ovechkin-like missile from the left dot on the power play by Evan Rodrigues and finishing with a pretty snipe by Brian Boyle, top corner, stick side. The Pens offense was special at PPG Paints Arena Tuesday.
Rodrigues would finish with a game-high three points.
“It was a bomb,” said Pens head coach Mike Sullivan of the Rodrigues shot. “It was well placed. It was a goal-scorers goal. That’s an indication of his confidence level right now. He’s looking to shoot the puck.”
“After practice, taking a lot of them,” Rodrigues said of his improvement with one-timers. “You start to feel comfortable and confident in it. You just have to continue to shoot. Some will go in and some won’t. Just trying to continue to let them rip and they are finding a way into the back of the net.”
Pens also got a pair of goals thanks to the hard work of forward Danton Heinen, screening Allen to help allow shots by Mike Matheson and Brian Dumoulin to get through to each time allowing the team to re-establish a two-goal lead.
Tristan Jarry stopped 28 of 30 shots, his 13th win of the season. It’s also the 10th time in the last 11 starts that Jarry has given up two goals or fewer.
Pens tied a season-high with a fifth straight win, now 5-1 in December with home games in three of the next four.
Letang 600
The primary assist on the Evan Rodrigues power play goal, the 600th in Kris Letang’s career. The 34-year-old is now the 43rd defenseman in NHL history with as many points. He is the seventh on the active list with Brent Burns leading all with 738 points.
From his 2005 draft class, only Sidney Crosby, Anze Kopitar, Paul Stastny, TJ Oshie and Keith Yankle have more career points.
Crosby milestone
Crosby continued his game point streak, now at six. He also recorded his 400th multi-point game. He passed former teammate and assistant coach Mark Recchi for 14th place on the all-time list. Next up is Stan Mikita with 403, Ray Bourque at 404 and Paul Coffey with 408. Incredibly, Wayne Gretzky had a NHL record 824 multi-point games, 284 more than Jaromir Jagr in second place.
Sullivan talks stars
“They are really talented hockey players, but there’s a lot of talented hockey players,” Sullivan said of Letang and Crosby. “So it’s more than that. These guys are elite players, but they are also high character people that are extremely driven. They are motivated to win and they are hungry.”
“What I have grown to admire about them. As much success as they have had in their careers, they are hungry for more. They are not satisfied. They want to win. They have an insatiable appetite to win and they are willing to put the work in to get it done.”
“I haven’t been around two guys in Sid and Tanger that have the work ethic and the drive and the willingness to put the time in, both on the ice and off the ice, to try to help their games best at their best. I think that’s the reason for their longevity.”
Up Next
Pens again at home on Friday night at 7p hosting Buffalo.