The Pittsburgh Penguins played for the first time on Amazon Prime, challenging the Montreal Canadiens in front of a packed house at the Bell Centre and escaping with a convincing 6-3 win.
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Tristan Jarry picked up his first victory of the season, while Lars Eller netted two goals, and Evgeni Malkin capped the night with an empty net goal for his 499th career lamplighter.
Although the Penguins’ comeback victory was hard-fought, there are a few things to dissect from their latest win, which improved their record to 2-2-0 in the early season.
Jarry Slowly Building Trust (Again)
Jarry started at the Bell Centre on Monday after riding the pine in the previous two contests, watching rookie Joel Blomqvist earn back-to-back starts. Things were swimmingly well for the team’s top goalie until it all came crashing down quickly in the second period, and he was forced to scramble to preserve his first win of the new season.
Up 2-0 with hardly any action his way, Jarry got beat on a shot from the point to give Montreal some life. They responded by scoring two more goals before the halfway point of the second period to take a 3-2 lead. At that point, Jarry was sporting a .700 SV% with seven saves on ten shots.
Luckily, his teammates bailed him out and rallied to tie the game at 3-3 before going ahead 5-3 and sealing the win with an empty-net goal. Still, in the end, Jarry left Montreal with a victory and a .889 SV%. Overall, with his performance on Monday, he’s bumped his season SV% up to .869, which isn’t anywhere near where a No. 1 goalie in the NHL should be.
Veterans Key to Success
The Penguins are the second oldest team in the NHL, and their opponent on Monday is the second youngest. Something had to give between the two, and in the end, experienced skaters outplayed the youngsters.
Former Canadiens player Eller scored two goals, while Montreal native Kris Letang scored in his second straight contest. Meanwhile, depth forward Kevin Hayes added one, with Rakell Rickard and Malkin scoring into an empty net.
According to Elite Prospects, the Penguins’ (12,326 games) NHL experience is almost double that of the Canadiens’ (6,344 games), and this difference is evident in the battles, goals, and game flow.
Although Montreal has some young, skilled players, Pittsburgh was able to play its game and forced them to keep their heads on a swivel. In the end, no one over 23 scored for the home team, while the visitors got key goals from everyone over 31, one of the significant reasons they walked away with the dub.
The Number Six is a Blessing and a Curse
On Opening Night, the Penguins lost to the New York Rangers 6-0, their first meeting with an Original Six team this season. The following night, they traveled to Detroit to face the Red Wings and picked up a 6-3 over another Original Six club.
Related: Penguins: Inside The Crosby, Malkin, & Letang Connection
With a day off on Friday, they traveled to Toronto to face, you guessed it, another Original Six team in the Maple Leafs, who earned a 4-2 victory, with the final score equalling six. Then, on Monday against their fourth consecutive Original Six rival, Pittsburgh collected six goals in a 6-3 triumphant.
Thankfully, their run of Original Six opponents comes to an end on Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres. It seems the Penguins are mired in a run encompassed by the number six. Hopefully, they don’t need to score another six to win in two days, but then again, good things come in threes…or, in this case, six.
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