The Penguins got back on track on Sunday at PPG Paints Arena after a tough road trip, shutting out the Ottawa Senators, 1-0.
Sidney Crosby scored the overtime winner with a power-play goal on a penalty he drew in the final seconds of regulation. The tally extended his point streak to 10 consecutive games, which is the longest active point streak in the league (8G-7A-15PTS). His tally also extended his home point streak to 13-straight games, which is the second-longest home point streak in the league (8G-11A-19PTS).
“Just a nice pass from (Erik Karlsson). He put it on a tee,” Crosby said. “When you’re that close and you have a look, I wanted to make good on it. So, it was a good play by him.”
Tristan Jarry got the start after being pulled in each of his last two outings, and responded with his first shutout of the year. The Penguins netminder was solid from start to finish, returning to the form he displayed after coming back from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, when Jarry went on a 4-0-1 run.
“Obviously the last two, I think I’d like to have back. Being pulled is never easy. But just being able to play today and have the game that I did, I think that shows resiliency and to just keep going with that,” Jarry said. “I think to be able to get that and just to be able to climb, it’s good. It’s good for me and I think it’s good for the team just to play that way and be able to shut a game out like that.”
Crosby praised how Jarry worked and battled, saying he made some big saves on mistakes the Penguins made. But as a whole, he was glad they put forth a better performance in front of Jarry, saying, "we didn’t give our goalies much help on (the road) trip. Nice to come back home and play a little bit better in front of them."
Tonight, Crosby said that limiting turnovers was the biggest key.
“We did a better job with reloading a little better, not giving up odd-man rushes,” Crosby said. “Then zone time both ways, I thought we were pretty good getting out of our end for the most part. Then possessing the puck ourselves. At both ends of the ice, that kind of contributed to it.”
OTHER NOTABLES...
*Ville Koivunen made his NHL debut with Pittsburgh after being acquired from Carolina - who took him in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft - as part of the Jake Guentzel trade. We got the chance to speak with his parents, dad Petri and mom Riitta, who traveled from Finland to watch their son achieve his dream.
*What a 21st birthday it was for Rutger McGroarty, skating on a line with Sidney Crosby in his first NHL action since October and playing a big role in the win.
“I love my parents and my sister and my girlfriend. But no present they’ve ever got me could live up to that,” he joked with a smile after the game.
McGroarty looked terrific playing with Crosby and Bryan Rust. There was already so much to like about the forward’s game coming out of the University of Michigan, and he’s grown so much over the past few months in the American Hockey League, particularly when it comes to his confidence with the puck and making plays.
That was evident tonight, as McGroarty was assertive playing alongside those two stars. While McGroarty called them role models and players he grew up watching, he wanted to go out there, do what he can do and complement them. Mission accomplished, even while wearing two different skates late in the game.
“I thought he played well,” Crosby said. “He was in on the puck, in on the forecheck, created turnovers, had a couple of chances in around the net. He competed really hard.”
