The Penguins took on the Buffalo Sabres in an exciting preseason matchup on September 28. All eyes were on the Penguins’ biggest acquisition this offseason as Erik Karlsson, along with the Big Three, made their preseason debuts.
The Pens experienced a roster overhaul this offseason. For a hockey team, having a majority of your roster players participating in a preseason game is necessary for getting live action reps, figuring out playstyles and participating in live competition.
Fans were eager to see Erik Karlsson on the powerplay, who is one of the best to do it. As of now, Coach Mike Sullivan has Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Rickard Rakell and Karlsson as the powerplay unit. Numerous reports coming out of practice are stating that the powerplay is struggling to find their way, and we saw that in this preseason game. They went 0-3 with a lack of chemistry in the unit. They could not find sustained pressure in the offensive zone and it looked sloppy when sharing the puck around. Although this is concerning, it’s not time to hit the panic button. These are world class players on the powerplay and this is what preseason is for: to improve and to be ready for when it counts.
Getting into Karlsson’s first night in black and gold, his game looked as expected. He was a difference-maker on the ice; I could not take my eyes off of him. He was shifty in tight spaces, quick on his feet and made unbelievable passes up the ice to create offense. Although his name did not make the score sheet, any spectator would tell you he was noticeable.
Shying away from the Karlsson talk, the Pens won by a 3-1 score thanks to a pair of goals from Drew O’Connor, who was all over the ice Thursday night. The first period did not have very much action at all with very sloppy plays. Things picked up in the second as Rickard Rakell buried a goal upstairs on Buffalo goaltender Eric Comrie thanks to a nice feed from the captain. In the final minute of the second period, the Sabres’ best player Tage Thompson scored alone on a break away on Tristan Jarry.
In the third, O’Connor said enough was enough and got himself to the front of the net and scored on a beautiful backhand deflection from Lars Eller. As Eller and O’Connor are expected to start together on the third line, you love to see that this pairing is already producing goals. O’Connor then scored an empty netter to seal the deal for the Pens and move to 2-1-1 on the preseason. Before I move on from this game, it needs to be mentioned that Jarry looked cool, calm and collected the entire game. For a team loaded with talent, I think the Pens live and die based on Tristan Jarry’s performance and health this year.
The Pens’ next preseason game will be against the Ottawa Senators and will be played in Nova Scotia, Canada, about 10 miles away from Sidney Crosby’s hometown of Cole Harbour. This will be a major event for the NHL, as a legend will get to put on a show for his hometown in front of his family and friends. It should make for a very exciting day for the team and serve as an opportunity for them to get closer as a group before the regular season starts.
Ending on a good note, Jake Guentzel continues to make significant progress in his recovery from the right ankle surgery he had this summer. In practice on Friday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, Guentzel skated with the team wearing a white no contact jersey. It may be hard to indicate if he will be ready for opening night, but, all signs are pointing to a faster recovery than expected.
