The Pittsburgh Penguins were looking to build off of the momentum they built in their last two wins against Vancouver and Boston when they faced the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
It’s safe to say they got the job done.
The Penguins were the dominant team all night, and they beat the Flames in decisive fashion, 6-2. The second power play unit scored three times – Michael Bunting, Philip Tomasino, and Kris Letang got the tallies – and Anthony Beauvillier, Rickard Rakell, and Blake Lizotte added goals for the Penguins as well.
As was the case in Boston, it was a complete effort from the entire team, especially on the defensive front. They did face a bit of a barrage from Calgary for a few minutes at the end of the third period, but other than that, they were the better team the entire night and frustrated the Flames into taking penalties as well.
And it all starts with responsible play from both the blue line and the forward units.
“We’re making better decisions on when we’re active going down the walls,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “I also think we’re more disciplined with our forwards. They’re reloading and working to get above the puck when our ‘D’ are active. When we play the game the we’ve played it the last three games, we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win. I think we’re much harder to play against, and we’re not compromising offense to do it. We’re just playing a more honest game.”
Here are some thoughts and observations from Saturday’s game:
– I don’t think I have enough good things to say about Beauvillier this season.
Before he even opened the scoring in the first period, he was already noticeable. He’s so smart in the defensive zone. He made a couple of nice plays early on to help the transition game and the breakout. He had an excellent offensive zone shift late in the first period a few minutes before he scored his goal.
The Penguins are getting the very best version of Beauvillier. This is some of the best hockey he’s played throughout his career. Whatever the Penguins decide to do in terms of keeping him versus trading him, him playing at this high a level is no small thing for them.
– Piggybacking off of Beauvillier, I really, really like Lizotte in a third-line center role. With his tally tonight, he now has four goals in 10 games on the season.
“I think he plays a hard game. He’s a gritty guy, he’s a north-south guy, and I think he just plays the game the right way. He’s on pucks, he’s a good puck pursuit guy, he’s got a defensive conscience, also. We give him a lot of d-zone starts, d-zone faceoffs, things of that nature.”
He added with a smile: He’s on a 40-plus goal pace. If he can keep that up, it’d be great for us.
The Penguins may have something with that line. Lizotte and Beauvillier certainly seem to have developed some chemistry, and their speed, forechecking ability, and defensive zone awareness are really beginning to make that line look like a two-way threat. Bunting’s role can’t be discounted, either. He’s going to the dirty areas and doing what he does when he’s at this best.
This could be a huge revelation for the Penguins if they continue to click.
– The Penguins’ second power play unit was on fire tonight, and it has been hot. But Bunting has been especially hot.
He now has a team-leading three power play goals on the season, and he registered three points in this game. Normally, I would be advocating for him to make his way to the first unit. In some ways, I think that should still happen.
But, the power play has been a strength recently. And I’m not sure who you take off the first unit to slot Bunting in. My choice would probably be Rust, but the first unit has mostly been clicking, too.
Honestly? Don’t fix what isn’t broken. The Penguins seem to be icing the second unit for longer durations, which is probably the best way to optimize the power play right now because both units have been pretty good.
The Penguins are now clicking at nearly a 25 percent rate on the power play, which is good for top-eight in the league. They need this to continue being a strength if they’re going to start making headway in the standings.
– GM and POHO Kyle Dubas did some nasty work snagging Tomasino from Nashville for a mere 2027 fourth-round pick.
This guy is such a smart player. He’s rarely out of position, he has great instincts, and he anticipates well. He knew exactly where to position himself on his goal, but there was a play right after he scored that caught my attention.
The second line was going in on a rush in the offensive zone. Tomasino pulled up, and he softly banked a cross-ice pass off the half-wall to Malkin, who turned in a good scoring chance. His teammate also pointed to another opportunity Tomasino generated as a good example of what he brings to the table.
“He’s good,” Bunting said. “He’s poised with the puck, and he has a great shot. One of the moves that stuck out, and maybe he didn’t score, was that toe drag around the ‘D.” He snapped it to the goalie, and he made a good save. He obviously has that in his toolbox, and especially on the power play, too. He kind of finds that soft spot and uses that shot to his advantage. He’s a good player, and we’re looking forward to keeping him going.”
Tomasino’s vision is on display. Again, he’s a high-IQ player, and I think this could be a very good fit for the Penguins- especially on Malkin’s line.
– Nedeljkovic turned in a hell of a game. And his best save of the night came on Rasmus Andersson near the end of the first period.
A juicy rebound squirted out to Andersson, and Nedeljkovic went post-to-post in the butterfly and made a high-glove save, committing highway robbery on Andersson:
It’s no coincidence that the Penguins’ three-game winning streak has occurred with better team defense and better goaltending. Nedeljkovic followed the precedent set by Tristan Jarry in the Boston game. He was very, very good in this game.
– Owen Pickering continues to prove that he deserves to remain in this NHL lineup.
He only played 13:24 tonight after missing two games due to illness, but he had a huge block early on, he saw some time on the penalty kill, and he was engaged and smart in the offensive zone.
Forward Cody Glass will, presumably, be returning from injury soon. Don’t be surprised to see Jack St. Ivany – who is also waiver-exempt – sent back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton instead of Pickering.
– Over the past three games, the Penguins have started to look like a hockey team. They did give up some chances late in this game – as well as two late goals – but there isn’t the panic in their game that has been evident for much of the season.
And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they’re mostly healthy, too.
As of now, Glass is the only player still awaiting a return to the lineup. They have been better with Lizotte in the mix. They’re better with Hayes in the mix. They’re better with Pickering in the mix, too.
Fans can gripe about young players and call-ups not getting opportunities, which is somewhat valid. But the Penguins seem to have some defensively responsible players on their fourth line in Acciari and Nieto, and, as mentioned before, Lizotte has provided a two-way spark for that third line.
This is really good stuff from the Penguins, who will certainly be tested in the upcoming week. They play the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers on Tuesday before another back-to-back on Friday and Saturday against the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Things aren’t going to get any easier for the Penguins, but they’re ready for the challenge.
“I think we feel pretty good about our game,” Beauvillier said. “We feel like we can go up against anybody at this point in the season right now. It will be a good challenge for us. It doesn’t get any easier, and it won’t get any easier down the stretch, so we just see it as a good challenge, and we’ll go from there.”