I’ve gotta confess, things looked pretty bleak for the Penguins last night. After slogging out of the starting gate, we spotted the Sabres a seemingly insurmountable 4-2 lead heading into the third period of our final preseason tune-up.
Then…SHAZAM…the boys in black and gold roared back to nip the visitors, 5-4, on Sidney Crosby’s overtime winner.
Truth be told, the game was a mixed bag containing assorted highs and lows for the locals, who went pretty much with a veteran lineup, plus kids Ben Kindel, Harrison Brunicke and Sergei Murashov. Filip Hållander, too, although at 25 he’s not really a kid any longer.
Not to harp on the negative right out of the chute, but no one’s bag was more mixed than goalie Tristan Jarry’s. In his never-ending saga of up-and-down performances, Jarry leaked for three goals on 19 shots to nullify an early 1-0 lead, courtesy of a bulldozer-in-a-construction-yard tally by Philip Tomasino. (Side note: he’s had a couple of those this preseason.)
Minutes after coach Dan Muse called a timeout to rally the troops and yank the faltering Jarry in favor of Murashov midway through the second frame, Brunicke struck for a dazzling goal. The quicksilver defender easily circumnavigated would-be checkers with his ultra-smooth stride before lacing an improbable top-shelf, forehand wrister past Alex Lyon from a severe angle.
Goodness, what a goal!
Buffalo struck back at 16:37 on a semi-softie yielded by Murashov, who failed to blunt what appeared to be a routine shot by Alex Tuch. Talented Jiri Kulich arrived as Johnny-on-the-spot to poke the biscuit home for his second goal of the night and make it 4-2 in favor of the Sabres.
It was the lone shudder in an otherwise solid performance by the kid goalie, who denied the other dozen shots that came his way.
Cue the cavalry charge. Rickard Rakell ignited the comeback at 6:45 of the third with a power-play goal. Crosby knotted the score, again with the man-advantage, with one of his patented backhanders at 13:54.
Sid capped off the comeback a mere nine seconds into overtime with a tap-in goal, courtesy of a silky-smooth setup by Erik Karlsson.
Puckpourri
It was a fairly even game, with the Sabres holding a slight edge in possession, shots on goal (32-30) and faceoffs (51.6 percent).
Crosby, Rakell and Karlsson appear to have gathered no ‘rust’ (pun intended) despite a lack of preseason action. Hållander, in his quietly efficient manner, picked up his fourth assist of the exhibition slate on Brunicke’s goal.
Speaking of the 19-year-old defender, he and partner Connor Clifton—playing a rare game on his off (left) side—were heavily under water in terms of possession. Clifton partly atoned with a game-high seven hits against his old mates.
I’m guessing fellow vet Matt Dumba, who has more experience playing the portside, may have the inside track.
Caleb Jones was paired with Kris Letang to generally mixed reviews (each was a minus-one). Parker Wotherspoon held down the fort beside Karlsson.
Continuing to dip into the mixed bag, Kindel assisted on Tomasino’s goal, but had a little bit of a tough night otherwise. In didn’t help his cause to have Tommy Novak giving his usual passerby effort on wing.
Likewise, Evgeni Malkin (primary assist on Rakell’s goal) didn’t receive a ton of help from twin-tower linemates, Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau.
If his three preseason appearances are any indication (.888 save percentage), brace yourself for another roller-coaster ride of a season from Jarry, replete with plenty of dips (and soft goals). By contrast, the 21-year-old Murashov was mostly rock-solid. Which, of course, is why he’s…
…Heading to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
To borrow from an old Led Zeppelin classic, there are two paths the Pens can go down. They elected a mostly veteran path.
Mostly.
Through absolutely no fault of their own (or shortfall in performance), Murashov and fellow youngsters Tristan Broz and Avery Hayes will start the season with the Baby Pens. Owen Pickering, too, although there were some issues with the rangy defenseman’s play.
Meanwhile, what I’m predicting will be a passel of non-productive vets, specifically Noel Acciari, Brazeau, Mantha and Novak get to keep their jobs. For now.
I’ll lump Jarry into that category as well. Whatever the two-time All-Star used to have he doesn’t have any more.
Having said that, Kindel and Brunicke did make the cut, along with Ville Koivunen and the aforementioned Hållander, so there will be some fresh blood in the lineup. Perhaps just not as much as anticipated or hoped.
In Kindel’s case, it could very likely be a nine-game trial, with a return to junior coinciding with Bryan Rust’s return from IR. As for Hållander/Broz, the former needs to pass through waivers while the latter does not.
Did I mention Rutger McGroarty is at long last skating again?
In other moves, the Pens will waive Alexander Alexeyev, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Boko Imama, Sam Poulin and…gasp…Ryan Graves (see my previous note on Jarry). While I feel badly for Ryan, who never seemed a fit from day one, good on Kyle Dubas for knowing when to say when.
Robby Fabbri was released from his PTO.
If the Pens do stick with the vets, I doubt if we’ll do more than challenge for a decent pick in the upcoming Entry Draft.
The good news? As Stairway to Heaven suggests, there’s still time to change the rope we’re on.
Get Your Red-Hots
One last item to report, and this comes courtesy of colleague Caleb DiNatale.
Our fifth-round pick in this summer’s entry draft, right wing Jordan Charron, is tearing up the OHL to the tune of seven goals and 10 points in six games. The edgy 6’2” 198-pound Soo Greyhound is drawing raves from his team and scouts alike for his mouth-watering combo of size, speed and skill.
Another potential late-round bullseye for the Dubas/Wes Clark combine?
Let’s hope.
