For Monday night’s game against a predominantly NHL Detroit Red Wings lineup, the Pittsburgh Penguins iced a prospect-heavy lineup full of players likely destined for the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2024-25.
And after tonight, there are some very tough decisions for Penguins’ management on the horizon.
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Despite the roster disadvantage, the Penguins defeated the Red Wings, 5-1, in pretty convincing fashion. Goaltender Joel Blomqvist stood tall in relief of an injured Alex Nedeljkovic. Noel Acciari netted two goals, Lars Eller potted a shorthanded breakaway tally, Drew O’Connor scored an early goal, and Vasily Ponomarev sealed it off with an empty-net goal at the end.
The Penguins were the better team for most of the night. That much was evident. But, perhaps, even more evident was the legitimacy of the talent that the Penguins have in terms of the guys fighting for spots on the NHL roster.
With the regular season a little more than a week away – and, certainly, significant roster cuts coming very soon – I don’t envy head coach Mike Sullivan and GM and POHO Kyle Dubas. They have to put together the final NHL roster for Oct. 9, and, honestly, I don’t think there are easy answers.
Here are some notes and observations from tonight’s game:
– First and foremost, Nedeljkovic was injured early on in the game, seemingly when the net was dislodged. Sullivan said that he is being evaluated for a lower-body injury and that they’d have more information Tuesday.
Blomqvist relieved Nedeljkovic, and boy, was he good in this game. He stopped all but one Detroit shot and made a few top-notch saves. His lateral movement is crazy fast. And he looked comfortable and locked in against a lineup full of NHL players.
My bold prediction for this season was that Blomqvist would be the starting goaltender by the end of it. I stand by that prediction. This guy is really, really good, and he showed it last season in the AHL (at least, during the regular season).
If Nedeljkovic misses any extended time, Blomqvist will start the season in the NHL. And if he plays anything like he did tonight, starting goaltender Tristan Jarry’s leash is going to be very short.
– Acciari had two goals tonight. This is the kind of player I envisioned the Penguins were getting last offseason: someone who could still contribute on offense but carry the defensive load for the bottom-six.
His whole line was the best by far tonight. McGroarty was locked in and showed…