Playing on Amazon Prime for the first time, the Pittsburgh Penguins challenged the Montreal Canadiens in front of a packed house at the Bell Center and escaped with a convincing 6-3 win.
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Tristan Jarry picked up his first win of the season, while Lars Eller scored two goals, and Evgeni Malkin finished the night with an empty net goal for his 499th career lamplighter.
While the Penguins’ comeback win was hard-fought, there are a few things we can parse from their latest win, which improved their record to 2-2-0 to start the season.
Jarry slowly (re)builds trust
Jarry started Monday at the Bell Center after hitting the pines in the previous two games and watching rookie Joel Blomqvist earn back-to-back starts. Things were going well for the team’s best goalkeeper until it all came crashing down quickly in the second period and he had to scramble to secure his first win of the new season.
Leading 2-0, with no action going his way, Jarry was beaten on a shot from the point, giving Montreal some life. They responded by scoring two more goals midway through the second period to take a 3–2 lead. At that point, Jarry had an SV% of .700 with seven saves on ten shots.
Fortunately, his teammates saved him and rallied to tie the match at 3-3 before taking the lead 5-3 and sealing the victory with an empty net goal. Still, Jarry ultimately left Montreal with a win and an .889 SV%. Overall, his performance on Monday lifted his season’s SV% percentage to .869, which isn’t close to where a No. 1 goaltender in the NHL should be.
Veterans key to success
The Penguins are the second-oldest team in the NHL, and their opponent on Monday is the second-youngest. Something had to happen between the two, and in the end, experienced skaters defeated the youngsters.
Former Canadiens player Eller scored two goals, while Montreal native Kris Letang scored in his second straight game. Meanwhile, depth forward Kevin Hayes added one, with Rakell Rickard and Malkin scoring into an empty net.
According to Elite Prospects, the Penguins’ NHL experience (12,326 games) is almost double that of the Canadiens (6,344 games), and this difference is evident in the fights, goals and play.
While Montreal has some young, experienced players, Pittsburgh was able to play its game and force them to keep their heads on the swivel. In the end, no one over 23 scored for the home side, while the visitors got important goals from anyone over 31, one of the main reasons why they walked away with the dub.
The number six is a blessing and a curse
On Opening Night, the Penguins lost 6-0 to the New York Rangers, their first meeting with an Original Six team this season. The next night they traveled to Detroit to face the Red Wings and picked up a 6-3 victory over another Original Six club.
Related: Penguins: Inside The Crosby, Malkin and Letang Connection
With the day off on Friday, they traveled to Toronto to, you guessed it, take on another Original Six team in the Maple Leafs, who earned a 4-2 win, with a final score of six. Then on Monday against their fourth consecutive Original Six rival, Pittsburgh collected six goals in a 6-3 victory.
Fortunately, their series of Original Six opponents comes to an end on Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres. It appears the Penguins are involved in a series encompassed by the number six pick. Hopefully they don’t have to score another six to win in two days, but then again, good things come in threes… or, in this case, six.
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