Penguins Grades: Get This Rookie a Goal! Some Positive Signs

Sidney Crosby had a big smile and laughed after scoring a power-play goal in the final seconds of the first period.

His turning one-timer seemed less intentional and more accidental. However, his other plays throughout the game were full of intent, and sometimes that aim was to put the puck on rookie Ville Koivunen’s stick for the kid’s first goal.

After a predominantly disinterested first period, the Penguins’ first line with Bryan Rust began to assert just how much better they are than pretty much everyone else in hockey, certainly much better than the hapless Chicago Blackhawks.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan flipped the lines with his rookie wingers after the first period, putting Rutger McGroarty with Evgeni Malkin and Koivunen with Crosby. Koivunen promptly set up defenseman Erik Karlsson for an easy goal early in the second period.

“I wanted to shoot it, but I had to pass it. He was open,” Koivunen said.

PHN reminded the rookie that he didn’t HAVE to pass it. He did make the right play, and that’s just part of what sets him apart.

After Koivunen’s assist, the Penguins veterans really began trying to return the favor. It was obvious as heads turned looking for Koivunen. On multiple shifts deeper into the second period, Crosby and Rust visibly passed on shots or simpler plays to hold the puck and look for Koivunen, whose best chance was an open wrister from the left circle at the 15:50 minute mark of the second.

The Penguins’ rookie rather enjoyed the attention from the star players.

“Yeah, I think (they were looking for me in the second). In the last period, too, they were trying to find me. Maybe a little bit,” Koivunen said with a sheepish smile.

In a game long on casual plays and short on intensity, the push to get Koivunen a goal held special interest.

One of the shifts of the year.

Koivunen-Crosby-Rust just look like they belong with each other.

So exciting! #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/2tmXXd5LCr

— nhlpens (@nhlpens) April 9, 2025

The somewhat improved performance by the Penguins’ defensemen also held some interest. Chicago managed just 14 shots in the first two periods as the unstructured Blackhawks breakout struggled to navigate the Penguins’ puck pressure and neutral zone layers.

Actually, Chicago struggled with much of their game.

Since we’ve given the horns to the blue line for a solid couple of weeks running, credit where it’s due–after a typically horrid first period in which they yielded a few two-on-ones. After the second period, they tightened up … mostly.

However, the unfortunate part of the game was rookie Rutger McGroarty appearing to sustain a significant foot injury as he extended his skate to block a slapshot by Connor Bedard in the second period. McGroarty needed to be helped down the tunnel to the Penguins’ room.

Read More: (UPDATED) McGroarty Injured, Hobbles Off the Ice

Penguins Grades:

There were a few unexpected performances Tuesday.

Team: C?

They slumbered through the first period. Dominated the second period, though they did so without the intensity of a meaningful regular season game. When Kris Letang reshingled the roof behind Chicago goalie Spencer Knight at 4:28 of the third period, the game was essentially over.

Ville Koivunen: A

Our initial impressions have been confirmed. He’s pretty good, eh? He understands the game. Koivunen finished with one assist and four shots on goal.

“He has a fast hockey brain,” said goalie Tristan Jarry.

“He’s getting more confident out there and building chemistry with the guys,” Karlsson said. “He’s starting to figure it out, and that’s what you’re looking for.”

When he finally gets that first NHL tally, the bench may blow the roof off of whatever building they’re in. The Penguins play in New Jersey on Friday.

Ryan Graves: A

We’re grading on the curve a bit, but he was solid. He asserted himself in the first period and got his legs moving in the offensive zone- Graves had a couple of shots and solidly hit the post on another.

Credit where it’s due. Graves was solid.

Matt Nieto: A

It’s the revenge of fan targets. Nieto was having a night, too, including his scoring chance near the net in the first period in which he deflected the puck on net from between his legs.

Nieto probably won’t be in the NHL next season, so a few more performances like Tuesday’s would do well to get him an opportunity somewhere next year.

Tristan Jarry: A

Chicago was not without scoring chances, including on the second shot of the game. At times, the Penguins are still maddenly inattentive with the puck or in the neutral zone, gifting glorious chances.

If one or two of those Grade A chances go in, its an entirely different game. Good saves. Timely saves. The goalie did his job in a 26 save shutout.

Sidney Crosby/Bryan Rust: Good on You

Trying to get the rook his first NHL goal is first-rate leadership. They didn’t compromise the game, but they were trying. This might be the most anticipated first goal since Garret Wilson, but for much different reasons.