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Penguins trending up at conclusion of preseason |
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The Penguins and Sabres did their best to provide as good of a preseason game as you’re going to get. There was a total of 11 goals, a super star fight, and notable players throughout both lineups. The best part, no injuries.
One of the most common grumblings heading into this last preseason game was how the Penguins power play had looked. Last night they had two goals and they scored them in very different ways. The first was a backdoor pass from Erik Karlsson to Evgeni Malkin hiding away on the side.
The lead up to this goal wasn’t going to squash any of the criticisms about the power play. The puck movement wasn’t significant, and it would have been just another power play, the kind we’ve been seeing so far this preseason. It is notable because this is an example of the ridiculous talent, namely Karlsson, making a quick strike and getting a goal anyways. There are going to be plenty of those goals this year.
The second power play goal had some crisp movement prior to Kris Letang burying the puck from in close to the goal. Perhaps, the earlier power play goal got them to stop pressing and to just get to business.
Quick puck movement, players moving, penalty killers chasing. Simple conceptually and when top end players nail the basics they can let their physical skill sets fill in the gaps and you get a goal that looks so crisp and effortless. This was nice to watch.
Drew O’Connor scored twice and leads the team with four goals in the preseason. The 26 year old is looking to take the next step in his professional career. Previously, he’s been a solid xGF% player who never hurt the team when he was on the ice. He played a 4th line depth role more times than not. This year he’s looking to take what he has been good at and be more asssertive offensively. He’s a real important variable heading into the season. If he can provide more offense like the preseason has shown it will be a great development for the offensive depth on a team needing more of it. His second goal sure looked like a guy with a lot of confidence.
This was a 3v2 in transition where O’Connor carried the puck the entire time. Earlier in his NHL tenure I guarantee he wouldn’t carry the puck the entire way without passing. There would have been a forced pass in there somewhere. Last night, he took what was given to him and looked very confident doing so. He’s in a good head space making plays like that.
Sidney Crosby got in a fight. I’ll never be a fan of him getting in a fight even if his heart is in the right place. Kris Letang took a hit up high and the captain was the closest guy to it and wanted to take action. It was more a wrestling match than a fight and it was over as quick as it started, but nothing would be worse than a broken hand due to fighting from the lifeblood of your team. It wasn’t even one of these games where the teams were feisty. Most of it looked exactly like what you would think a preseason finale would look. Everything turned out OK in hindsight.
Overall, things are looking OK to start the season, even if they will likely be without Jake Guentzel to start. This was a nice way to close out the preseason.
Thanks for reading!
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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