Snap Shots: Preseason Game 5
"I thought Dom Simon was really good," Sullivan said. "Not only did he score a goal, but I thought he was stiff on the puck all night long. He makes plays and he wins puck battles and makes plays out of the traffic."
That was Simon's second goal of the preseason, while O'Connor recorded his third after
having a two-goal game
in Tuesday's 5-4 shootout win over Buffalo.
"I thought Drew O'Connor had another strong game," Sullivan said of the second-year forward. "I think his two-way game is really developed. It's come a long way. He's playing with a lot more confidence. We utilized him on the power play tonight. We had him killing with Brian Boyle, I thought he did a good job on the kill as well. Those are two guys, for me, that I thought had pretty good games."
LINEUP
Dominik Simon-Radim Zohorna-Valtteri Puustinen
Drew O'Connor-Brian Boyle-Anthony Angello
Sam Poulin-Sam Lafferty-Nathan Legare
Filip Hallander-Jonathan Gruden-Kasper Bjorkqvist
Mike Matheson-Chad Ruhwedel
Niclas Almari-Juuso Riikola
P.O Joseph-Taylor Fedun
Casey DeSmith
Louis Domingue
THOUGHTS, MUSINGS AND OBSERVATIONS
The Penguins dressed a mostly young lineup, recalling four players from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to suit up. Sullivan said tonight would give guys another opportunity to show themselves and put their best effort on the ice, and they would evaluate afterward.
A few of the Penguins' higher-end prospects who are looking to make the jump to pro hockey in North America this season have remained in Pittsburgh's training camp through the rounds of roster cuts. Sullivan was asked to assess that group, particularly Sam Poulin and Nathan Legare, Pittsburgh's first- and third-round draft picks in 2019.
"You can see why they got drafted where they did with some of their natural ability, and I think you can also see some of the immaturity in their game and where they need to learn certain details in order to develop a more mature game," Sullivan said. "I think that's just part of the natural development of a player. These guys have showed a lot of promise. We're really excited about what we've seen from a lot of them. We think moving forward here, that these guys will get better. Our hope is that the learning curve will be steep, and we'll see where it goes."
Valterri Puustinen may not have been drafted high, as he was taken in the seventh round that same year. But he's coming off a strong season with HPK of Liiga (Finland's top professional league), where he scored 21 goals in 51 games, and got a pretty big opportunity today.
The 22-year-old forward started on the top line and was on the top power-play unit, where he earned the primary assist on O'Connor's goal.
"I like Puusty's game," Sullivan said. "I think he's got real good offensive instincts. I think he sees the ice well. He makes a real nice play on the power-play goal. I'm certainly excited to watch his game develop."
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After Casey DeSmith stopped 23 of 27 shots against the Sabres on Tuesday, Sullivan said he thought there was another level to the netminder's game, and he found it tonight.
DeSmith was particularly strong in the first two periods, as the Red Wings were absolutely buzzing to start the game. They outshot the Penguins 8-1 in the opening minutes of play, and held a 30-17 edge after 40 minutes. But DeSmith was more than up to the task, looking calm and collected with every athletic save that he made to keep his team in the game.
DeSmith's coach and teammates often use the word "battler" to describe their goaltender, and I feel like that intensity has also gone to another level after his season ended early due to injury. "It was tough sitting at home watching the games on TV and not being able to do anything or help the guys," he said earlier in camp. "Definitely a frustrating spot, somewhere I've never been before. But hopefully that's the last time."
You can tell DeSmith wants to do everything he can to help the Penguins win more hockey games this year, and hopefully have a better end result.
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A Montreal native who is such a pure, smooth skater that he glides across the ice almost effortlessly. While that sentence does describe Kris Letang, it also rings true for another Penguins defenseman: Mike Matheson.
There was one point in this game where he picked up a puck at the halfwall in his own zone, circled the Penguins net, and went coast-to-coast like it was nothing before quickly getting right back into position.
The other day, I asked Jason Zucker what made him excited about the potential of this group. He mentioned how having a relatively normal season would help make guys like Matheson, now in his second season with Pittsburgh, a lot more comfortable. And I can't wait to see how that translates on the ice with the 27-year-old blueliner.
