For Monday night’s game against a predominantly NHL Detroit Red Wings lineup, the Pittsburgh Penguins iced a prospect-heavy lineup full of players likely destined for the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2024-25.
And after tonight, there are some very tough decisions for Penguins’ management on the horizon.
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Despite the roster disadvantage, the Penguins defeated the Red Wings, 5-1, in pretty convincing fashion. Goaltender Joel Blomqvist stood tall in relief of an injured Alex Nedeljkovic. Noel Acciari netted two goals, Lars Eller potted a shorthanded breakaway tally, Drew O’Connor scored an early goal, and Vasily Ponomarev sealed it off with an empty-net goal at the end.
The Penguins were the better team for most of the night. That much was evident. But, perhaps, even more evident was the legitimacy of the talent that the Penguins have in terms of the guys fighting for spots on the NHL roster.
With the regular season a little more than a week away – and, certainly, significant roster cuts coming very soon – I don’t envy head coach Mike Sullivan and GM and POHO Kyle Dubas. They have to put together the final NHL roster for Oct. 9, and, honestly, I don’t think there are easy answers.
Here are some notes and observations from tonight’s game:
– First and foremost, Nedeljkovic was injured early on in the game, seemingly when the net was dislodged. Sullivan said that he is being evaluated for a lower-body injury and that they’d have more information Tuesday.
Blomqvist relieved Nedeljkovic, and boy, was he good in this game. He stopped all but one Detroit shot and made a few top-notch saves. His lateral movement is crazy fast. And he looked comfortable and locked in against a lineup full of NHL players.
My bold prediction for this season was that Blomqvist would be the starting goaltender by the end of it. I stand by that prediction. This guy is really, really good, and he showed it last season in the AHL (at least, during the regular season).
If Nedeljkovic misses any extended time, Blomqvist will start the season in the NHL. And if he plays anything like he did tonight, starting goaltender Tristan Jarry’s leash is going to be very short.
– Acciari had two goals tonight. This is the kind of player I envisioned the Penguins were getting last offseason: someone who could still contribute on offense but carry the defensive load for the bottom-six.
His whole line was the best by far tonight. McGroarty was locked in and showed outstanding offensive zone awareness. He made a beautiful pass from below the goal line to Acciari in the slot for his first goal. He had three prime scoring opportunities in the first period alone and several later on.
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Puljujarvi, again, showed why he has more than earned a spot on this roster (which, I think is all but a lock at this point). He had an outstanding shift in the offensive zone prior to Acciari’s second goal, forechecking like a menace and showing off the skating ability that, I think, looks better than it did pre-double-hip surgery.
This line was a problem all night for Detroit. And, again, they were a mostly NHL lineup. Impressive stuff from them.
– On that note, I know a lot of folks are clamoring for the Penguins to trade Acciari. I am not one of them.
This guy has value to the Penguins. He’s the kind of player you want to have around come playoff time. He’s not going to “wow” you, but he goes out there and does his job. And he does his job very, very well.
It’d be nice to see younger guys get a shot in the lineup, but the forward depth the Penguins now possess is something that hasn’t been there in a long, long time. This is only a good thing.
There will be injuries. There will be opportunities for younger guys to slot in. But Acciari doesn’t need to go in order for that to happen.
In fact, I doubt any trades happen before the season at this point, whether they should or not. And honestly? I think that’s okay.
– Ponomarev continues to impress me, especially on the penalty kill (which we got to see a whole lot of tonight). His defensive zone awareness is so advanced. He pushes guys to the perimeter, makes great reads, displays great stick work, and cuts off angles like clockwork. He is also consistently deployed on the top PK unit alongside Acciari, which has been the case for much of camp.
Related: Will Vasily Ponomarev push for a roster spot?
And, aside from the PK, the “motor” that Sullivan has referred to on a few occasions was on display again. He’s fast. He’s tenacious. He wins puck battles. He seemingly doesn’t run out of gas. Even Detroit’s broadcast team was thoroughly impressed with his body of work tonight.
He could slot in the Penguins’ bottom-six immediately and make an impact. This is the exact kind of “energy guy” with bonus versatility that the team needs in its bottom-six.
Even if he doesn’t make the NHL roster out of camp, I think he’s the first guy they call on from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
– I thought Ryan Graves played a solid game tonight. He made a few nice defensive plays in front of his own net, got the puck out of danger on a few occasions, and he didn’t look a touch out of sync with Jack St. Ivany, who has been his partner throughout camp.
I think the Penguins would be wise to keep that pairing intact, if possible. Consistency is probably the best thing for Graves, and St. Ivany is a legitimately good defensive partner.
– Two other guys that impressed tonight were O’Connor and Valtteri Puustinen. O’Connor isn’t really a surprise at this point. His speed and forechecking ability were on full display.
But Puustinen needed a performance like this. He showed great patience and smarts on O’Connor’s first period power play goal, holding the puck just long enough to make Red Wings defenseman Michael Rasmussen overcommit before finding O’Connor’s stick for the tap-in.
He was a familiar player for most of this game, and that familiarity was a good thing. It’s tough to say whether or not this performance will be enough to lock down a roster spot, especially given the impressive camp from Puljujarvi.
But Puustinen came through for himself and his team when he needed to tonight.
– The Detroit broadcast kept showing replays of Detroit scoring chances in the middle of game action when the Penguins were in the offensive zone.
It was bizarre, and I was not a fan.
– The Penguins scored another power play goal tonight, and they used a low bumper to do it. That’s three goals in two games.
Don’t look now, but I do notice some tiny structural changes, and they’re getting some early returns. Maybe, just MAYBE, this could be a sign of things to come this season.
– There are about a million things I want to write about this game, and I’m already being long-winded here. But to circle back to the beginning, I have no idea what Sullivan, Dubas, and company are going to do when it comes time for final cuts.
Related: Penguins’ Morning Skate: Notes and Observations Ahead of Monday Matchup v. Detroit
Injury situations will certainly play a large role. Erik Karlsson still isn’t skating. Blake Lizotte had a doctor’s appointment today to evaluate an apparent facial injury. Nedeljkovic is also being evaluated.
So, as it stands, there is an injury at every positional group. What seemed like nearly a given roster-wise less than a week ago may not be so certain anymore.
Fringe guys like Puustinen, Puljujarvi, and Glass are playing hard and stepping up. Some young guys – like McGroarty, Ponomarev, Harrison Brunicke, Owen Pickering, and Blomqvist – are making a strong case to stick around. Veterans like Acciari, Eller, O’Connor, and Kevin Hayes are getting the job done.
Tomorrow night’s game will feature a healthy mix of veterans and prospects, and a lot of guys seemingly in the mix to make the roster will be dressing. So it will be yet another opportunity for some guys to separate themselves.
Waiver exemption might play a role here, but there are still some non-exempt players who will certainly get cut. That’s just how the math is adding up, and there’s not really going to be a way around that. The one thing to consider is that every team is deciding on final rosters and waiving players at this time of year, so many players go through untouched anyway.
In any case – at the end of the day – there should be some reason for optimism with this group of players. As mentioned before, there is legitimate talent knocking at the door for the first time in a while, and I have not seen a more competitive training camp in quite some time.
Related: Here’s What the Final Penguins’ Roster Will Probably Look Like
