The Pittsburgh Penguins opened their preseason with a 2-1 shootout loss for the Montreal Canadiens on Monday evening. Even in the loss it was a omnipres effort. The Rookies were solid and showed how smart the team of the team can be if they continue to develop well. Harrison Brunicke and Ben Kindel were very noticeable last night. However, two names really stood out in Tristan Broz and Sergei Murashov. Broz had the only regulation goal on a beautiful Power-Play setup. He also scored the only shootout goal of the Penguins. In just 20 years old without NHL experience, Murashov looked like a veteran between the pipes.
With Game 1 of the preseason packed, let’s look at three take -away restaurants of the game.
Penguins played with a lead
An important thing that General Manager Kyle Dubas wanted to tackle during the low season was the lack of physicality that the team showed last season. If the first match of the preseason is an indication that it is being tackled, Dubas has achieved it.
Last season there were too many cases of the penguins that passed on hits, making them a simple team to play against. A glimpse of that changed. Boys such as Connor Clifton and Matt Dumba, who are known as physical, were exactly that. But guys such as Sam Poulin and Robby Fabbri also contributed with hits, where Poulin also dropped the gloves. Although there may be worries to get out of position, they were smart with their selections of when they had to go for a hit and when they just had to put a stick on Puck.
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Placing sticks on pucks and using their bodies made the lives of the Canadiens difficult to get to the net. Shots and goals against were important talk points in recent seasons. For 40 minutes on Monday evening, the Penguins held the Canadiens to only 15 shots, of which 11 in 30 minutes. It was refreshing to see that the team is difficult to play against. If they can convey this in their next few pre -season matches, it can be a sign of more that comes when the regular season starts.
Goaltening Battle will be fun to watch
With his first media availability of the preseason, Dubas had some strong words when it came to answering a question about Logjam’s goalkeepers. Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dan Kingerski reported dubas saying”The best two goalkeepers, the way in which they perform in the camp and we consider the best for their development, but in particular the way they perform at the camp and the preseason, will determine who the two goalkeepers are starting with the penguins.” If Dubas is going to decide his keeper Tandem in the NHL and not only veteran presence, on Monday evening showed that it will be a tight fight for the start and back -up spots on the schedule of the Penguins.
Joel Blomqvist played the first half of the game against the Canadiens. At that time, although he was not extremely busy with 11 shots, he continued to look good between the pipes. He showed that balance that was highly advertised about him. It is something that he consistently had in his regular seasonal performances last season, but he is still learning and growing.
In the second half of the game, Murashov was definitely the busiest of the two penguins. In 34:55 between the pipes, including overtime, he made saves on 19 out of 20 shots with which he was confronted. Although he allowed the game-typing goal, it was not entirely for him. Murashov is a fast goalkeeper low, similar to Jonathan Quick in his Prime, who took him out of position. Nevertheless, he made the first two saves before he was tied up with a stick, causing him to fall backwards, allowing Owen Beck to bounce the puck of him and the net.
There was a lot to be found in his game outside of his fast lateral movement. His vision is solid and his ability to follow the puck made him look like an NHL veteran, even without having played a single NHL game. He came up with a number of large saves, including robbing Ivan Demidov of what a goal should have been. In the shootout he showed his ability to catch himself and to shift a way to stretch the other way back to get a toe on the puck. His potential is not only seen by fans or management, but also by his teammates. As reported by the Penguins’ Team ReporterMichelle Crechiolo, Broz said this after the game: “He is such a stud. I love him so much. I wish we could have achieved that victory for him. He deserved it. He is such a great player and such an inspiring person. So it was nice to see him doing his thing.”
Collapse of the third period can be a problem again
The first two periods, from a defensive aspect, had all the signs of the defense system of the Penguins that were solved. They blocked the whole ice and made it difficult for the Canadiens in the attacking zone by removing time and space. Unfortunately, thinking that they could continue those great performance in my face.
She pursued the collapse of the third period last night, with defensive malfunctions that lead to 14 shots and one goal against the last 20 minutes. Although the effort was 40 minutes, it was a good memory that they had to be on top of things for 60 minutes. Fortunately for them, these games do not count for the rankings, so there is still some time to find a way to solve that problem to enter the regular season.
De Penguins play their second match of the preseason on September 24 when they compete against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It will be interesting to see the schedule that the trip to Columbus will make.
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