The Pittsburgh Penguins rolled into Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI, for a showdown with the Detroit Red Wings and prevailed 5-1 thanks to two goals from Noel Acciari and two points from Drew O’Connor.
Fresh off their win on Sunday night in Sudbury, ON, against the Ottawa Senators at the annual Kraft Hockeyville game, the Penguins lineup on Monday in the Motor City didn’t feature any future Hall of Famers.
Instead, head coach Mike Sullivan let some of the kids play, and the “veterans” in the group lit the lamp to improve Pittsburgh’s record to 2-2 in pre-season action.
Here are three things to take away from night one of the home-and-home against the Red Wings.
Special Teams Played a Significant Role in the Victory
After producing the 30th-worst power-play totals in the NHL last season, the Penguins improved their special team statistics by notching their fifth power-play goal of the pre-season in the first period.
O’Connor gave the visitors a lead late in the first period at 17:35, and by the end of the night, Pittsburgh finished 1-for-3 on the man advantage, improving to 5-for-13 on the power play, or 38.4% through four games.
Meanwhile, Lars Eller tallied a shorthanded goal less than five minutes into the second period, which stood as the game-winner. Thankfully, the Penguins penalty kill has been strong all pre-season because Detroit finished 1-for-6 on the man advantage in the contest.
Pittsburgh’s current success rate on the penalty kill is 80%, without any superstars. After building up a 2-1 lead, they let the Red Wings control play for the rest of the second period in a classic bend-don’t-break game plan.
However, Pittsburgh’s special team’s performance was why it returned home 2-0 on its recent mini-road trip without shutting down an NHL-ready Detroit lineup and scoring a power play goal.
Joel Blomqvist Will Be Ready When Called Upon
Alex Nedeljkovic started Monday night’s tilt against his former team but departed at 13:04, thrusting Joel Blomqvist into the net. The 22-year-old Swedish netminder played the final 46:44, surrendering one goal and finishing the evening with 20 saves and a .952 SV%.
Considering the Red Wings had Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin, Vladimir Tarasenko, Patrick Kane, and Moritz Seider on the ice, the top goalie prospect for the Penguins held his own and was always in a position to make a save or smother a rebound.
Although Blomqvist has yet to skate in an NHL regular-season game, he’s proven in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton that he is ready for a shot at stopping NHLers and was on point in this game. After surrendering six goals in the pre-season opener against Buffalo, he’s only been beaten twice in the last 64:27 of ice time.
Rutger McGroarty Collected an Assist, But It’s Not Enough
The Penguins acquired an elite prospect, Rutger McGroarty, in August. The former Hobey Baker Award nominee wanted a shot at cracking an NHL lineup and, after an assist in Detroit, has two points through three pre-season games.
© Sammi Silber – The Hockey News
However, on Monday night, McGroarty didn’t appear to be the impactful player everyone built him up to be. He collected three shots on goal and one excellent scoring chance, but he doesn’t seem to have the extra gear that Lane Hutson has in Montreal or the drive like Easton Cowen in Toronto.
The 20-year-old still has a chance to make the Opening Night roster and, with the right linemates and coaching, could become a 20-goal scorer. But he could also begin the season in the AHL, a step up over the NCAA, where he was last year.
Given the hype surrounding McGroarty’s acquisition, he could have made an impression against an opponent loaded with NHL veterans, yet his game didn’t seem to pop when he was on the ice.
The Penguins return home to PPG Paints Arena for a rematch with the Red Wings on Tuesday night.
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