3 Good Things, 3 Bad From Penguins Game; Sullivan ‘Gave Good Talking To’

The Buffalo Sabres minor league lineup beat the Pittsburgh Penguins prospects and bottom-six 3-2 at PPG Paints Arena Tuesday, Buffalo’s second win over the Penguins in four days.

However, coach Mike Sullivan may have found a line that lasts into the regular season and real competition for the forward spots, which might not be the simple decision it seemed a week ago.

Oh, and the Penguins power play looked competent in spurts.

No, the Penguins didn’t beat the minor league competition they faced, and that presents it’s own challenges to analyze. The third and fourth preseason games Penguins-preseason games on Saturday and Sunday will tell us a bit more about Sullivan’s views on the matter. Still, in the meantime, players confirmed Sullivan gave the group a “little talking to” after a sleepy first period.

The little kick in the pants worked. The Penguins played much better in the second half of the game, and goalie Joel Blomqvist, who split the game with starter Alex Nedeljkovic, stopped all 11 shots.

Nedeljkovic stopped 13 of 16. Blomqvist was unquestionably torched in Buffalo Saturday. Though he wasn’t pushed, being perfect for 27 minutes isn’t a bad thing, either.

The Penguins had a pair of lines that seemed to work pretty well, including Cody Glass with Kevin Hayes and Rutger McGroarty. That line could very well be in place for opening night on Oct. 9, and the trio showed good chemistry as the game progressed.

Anthony Beauvillier was also a dynamo with Blake Lizotte and Noel Acciari. They were fast and tenacious and created offensive chances. Circle those two lines as legitimate contenders to stay together.

3 Penguins Positives

1. Cody Glass

Jesse Puljujarvi threw down the gauntlet with a hat trick on Saturday while sticking up for teammates in a chippy game. Tuesday, Glass also played a strong game, contributing one assist, three shots, and plenty of offensive zone time.

Glass played with Kevin Hayes and Rutger McGroarty. The line had some jump in the offensive zone, at least in the second and third periods.

“I think we came out a little bit sleepy. You know, especially just the first period, I felt like we just weren’t going. And then we had a good talking to and go into the second, I thought we stepped up a bit,” Glass said. “I feel like we were just overthinking. I know myself in the first period, it was a lot of information. I was thinking way too much, then really started to ease into it in the second and third periods.”

There was a smoothness to Glass’s game.

“I thought that line had a lot of chances for us. It was our best line–I thought they had a lot of opportunities to score, and Cody was a big part of that,” Sullivan said. “He has good speed. He challenges with outside speed. I thought on the powerplay break outs, he had a couple of noticeable speed bursts coming through the neutral zone. I thought he played well from that standpoint. He was certainly noticeable.”

2. Jack St. Ivany

St. Ivany scored a goal in the first three minutes of the game and was present in the offensive zone. He was really good–pinching when appropriate and handling the puck when he had the chance.

St. Ivany isn’t known for his stick handling or offensive prowess, but he led the rush, executed a good drop pass and center drive, then finished Marc Johnstone’s rebound.

If there was any doubt he was the third-pairing right-side defenseman, he squashed that Tuesday.

“He defends well. He’s long, has good size, and has good reach. (St.Ivany) is mobile. He’s physical,” Sullivan said. “He battles at the net front. You know, he plays within himself … I think this year he came back to training camp with a whole lot more confidence.”

3. Anthony Beauvillier

Seeing a No. 72 play at the net-front in a Penguins jersey quickly conjures memories of Patric Hornqvist. However, Beauvillier was all over the ice Tuesday. At the net, on pucks in the corners, making good plays to continue the play and squeezing off a few good shots.

Actually, he led all players with seven shots, and they weren’t garden-variety 40-footers for the sake of padding his Corsi. They were good shots and he played an A+ game.

He has a chance to be the surprise of the season.

3 Bad Things

1. Sam Poulin

You want to root for Poulin, but he needs to play better if he’s going to earn more NHL ice. He took a couple of penalties, made a bad turnover at the offensive blue line, and was quiet for large parts of the game.

Buffalo’s second goal wasn’t on him, but he lost a 50/50 puck in the offensive zone and was a step slow back to the defensive zone, where he didn’t do enough to break up the rush when he made contact with the puck carrier at the blue line. He could have disrupted the rush but affected little more than a glancing defense.

He didn’t have a shot on goal. He needs to give more to put his name in the conversation for a roster spot.

2. Filip Kral

The potential Penguins defenseman didn’t seize his opportunity. He was only OK until suffering a lower-body injury in the third period. He made a costly turnover (uncredited) and was caught by the forecheck on a couple of occasions.

Did we set the bar too high? Maybe. But if he wants to enter into the sweepstakes for the seventh or even sixth D-man spot, he needs to be more assertive.

Some players must play their way onto the roster, and others have the luxury of needing to play their way off it. Kral is in the former camp, but he didn’t do it Tuesday.

3. Team

Sleepy in the first period?

Good grief. With jobs on the line, how does a team come out sleepy in the second preseason game? Sullivan did well to sound the alarm and get the team in gear for the final 40 minutes, but how does a Penguins roster with eight NHL players and some top prospects lose to a Sabres squad with barely an NHL player to be seen?