Penguins/NHL
Penguins Post-Game Reactions
Do we have an early front runner for one of the Penguins two open bottom-6 center spots?
To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
One observer tells TIOPS Pittsburgh’s best line on the night was the Hagelin-McKegg-Sprong and the line was especially effective with zone entries.
McKegg’s strength as a skater and hockey smarts in getting on the puck with speed and good angles was on display and he earned praised afterwards from the man who will be calling the shots on whether he earns a role in Pittsburgh or not.
“I thought McKegg [hide] was on the puck, I thought he won some faceoffs,” Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said of McKegg. “He made some plays. I thought he was solid defensively. He can skate. I thought that line overall had a pretty strong game.”
McKegg had an assist in the win, while other centers in the mix for spots also found the scoresheet.
Jay McClement scored a power play goal, he hasn’t scored a power play goal in the regular season since 2010 and Teddy Blueger is said to have held his own and had an assist.
— Mike Sullivan’s thoughts on Antti Niemi who made 25 of 27 saves:
“He saw a lot of action early,” Sullivan said. “He made some big saves for us. I think sometimes as a goalie coming to a new environment, maybe that’s a good thing. Because he really doesn’t have any opportunity to think about it much. He just has to go out there and trust his instincts and make the saves.”
Zach Aston-Reese has impact game
— Despite skating for all of camp with Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel, Zach Aston-Reese’s camp has been described by team sources as ‘underwhelming’.
He’s struggled with making quick reactions and hasn’t looked like an ideal candidate to think fast enough to play with a Malkin and Kessel.
Because he’s a player whose game is more filled on getting to the dirty areas and his play seems to rise when he’s physical, Aston-Reese is setting up as a player who may need to be evaluated more accurately from games than practices.
Aston-Reese had his most impactful performance with a goal vs the Sabres with Mike Sullivan calling his performance “strong”.
[hide]”I thought this was his best performance to this point, but it’s early,” Mike Sullivan said of the undrafted rookie. “We’re trying to reserve judgment, especially in intersquads. Those first few days, guys are trying to get used to playing real hockey again. This was really the first opportunity, I think, to have a fair evaluation for all those guys. I thought Zach had a really strong game.”[/hide]
