Real Penguins Top Faux Sabres, 3-1

For all intents and purposes, the real Pittsburgh Penguins, or a reasonable facsimile, played their first exhibition game last night, topping a Sabres squad largely comprised of second-tier players by a 3-1 count.

Rather than write a traditional game summary, I thought I’d share my impressions. Totally subjective of course.

Here goes.

My word, is Erik Karlsson fast. Make that F-A-S-T. I knew he could skate, but not like this. At the risk of drawing fire from my esteemed colleague, Other Rick, a few of his bursts were truly Paul Coffey-esque. While nobody’s going to confuse Karlsson with stay-at-home stalwart Dave Burrows, he was often the first man back to defend. Bottom line…the speedy Swede is going to help us.

Drew O’Connor was the best player on the ice…by far. He scored two goals and legitimately could’ve potted at least five. Needless to say, DOC asserted himself, using his size and speed to full advantage. This summer I wrote a pie-in-the-sky article comparing his slow and gradual development to that of Tage Thompson, the Sabres’ superstar and goal getter. While Drew obviously has a ways to go, perhaps the comparison wasn’t as far-fetched as it might seem. I only wish DOC was skating with Sam Poulin or Radim Zohorna as his center, rather than Lars Eller.

I confess, I entered the game not wanting to like Eller, or third-line sidekick Matt Nieto. I was lukewarm at best on signing them. But I have to give Eller his due. Although his work in the faceoff circle left something to be desired (27.3 percent), he played a solid all-around game and even assisted on O’Connor’s game winner. I was a little less enamored of Nieto, who nonetheless did a nice job. IMHO he belongs on the fourth line. At some point, do you flip-flop him and Jeff Carter (and hold your breath)? For the record, I thought big Jeff did okay.

Evgeni Malkin displayed plenty of jump, which was great to see. Per early reports, he and Reilly Smith really seem to look for each other on the ice and have a bit of chemistry. Unfortunately to the detriment of linemate Alex Nylander, who barely touched the puck it seemed until the third period. Like the team, a work in progress.

On the flip side, I thought Sidney Crosby was strangely invisible until he set up our first goal with one of those marvelous passes through traffic. (How he sees and exploits the openings I’ll never know.) Then…BANG…game on.

The team as a whole mirrored their captain. We displayed precious little hop, speed, intensity or spirit for the first 30 minutes or so and even less physicality. The latter continues to be a deep concern of mine. With the possible exception of Noel Acciari (two hits on the night), there’s no one capable of sparking the team with a big hit or a physical shift, let alone (gasp) a fight. Which means we have to rely almost solely on lighting the lamp to get us going. On nights when the puck’s not going in or we run into a hot goalie (an ever increasing occurrence it seems)?

Houston, we’ll have a problem.

Along those lines, our defense was pudding soft around our net (“soff” in Michel Therrien speak). If it weren’t for a fairly airtight performance by Tristan Jarry…and an almost total lack of second chance follow-up by the Sabres…Buffalo could’ve banged home three or four goals easy.

I liked what I saw from Ryan Graves. Although victimized on Thompson’s goal (no sin there), I thought he moved well and did a heads-up job alongside Kris Letang. Speaking of Tanger, he was one of the few Pens to display any fire or aggression at the outset.

The power play STUNK. Hopefully, it’ll improve as the guys get used to each other. Although I personally think it’s a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.

Mike Sullivan was in midseason form. Ergo, the fourth line barely touched the ice in the first period. Nothing like being glued to the bench to get the legs and competitive juices flowing. Why he didn’t dress Vinnie Hinostroza, who played for the Sabres last season, is beyond me.

There you have it, my first impressions. Considering the players are still getting to know each other and their tendencies, an okay first outing…with plenty of room for improvement.

SMITH UNCLAIMED

Each of the five players placed on waivers yesterday, including puck-moving defenseman Ty Smith and recently acquired forward Rem Pitlick, passed through unclaimed and will join the Baby Pens.