By Michelle Crechiolo
@PensInsideScoop Penguins Team Reporter
When Mike Sullivan walked into the Penguins locker room following their 7-0 victory over the Islanders at UBS Arena in their first game coming out of the holiday break, he commended the guys on a great effort.
“Hell of a win,” the Penguins head coach said. “That’s never an easy challenge, coming off a break like that, all that travel in the same day. Really good effort.”
He then proceeded to hand out a stack of milestone pucks, starting with Valtteri Puustinen, who capped off the scoring with his first NHL goal.
“Hammered it!” Tristan Jarry – who earned his fourth shutout of the season between the pipes – said of the 2019 seventh-round pick’s blast that found the back of the net.
Sullivan then acknowledged Evgeni Malkin, who passed Sergei Federov for the second-most goals by a Russian-born player in NHL history after tallying twice. One player let out a low whistle as Sullivan listed Malkin’s achievement.
“Then, Tanger is the first NHL defenseman in the history of the league to get five assists in one period,” Sullivan said before handing five pucks to Kris Letang, as his teammates marveled loudly.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 28, 2023The most points by a defenseman in a single period in NHL history: Kris Letang
Sole posession of second-place in goals all-time among Russian skaters: Evgeni Malkin
First NHL goal: Valtteri Puustinen
There were a LOT of milestones tonight! pic.twitter.com/f8omKJY55Y
Letang also received the postgame helmet that gets passed off after each win, deservedly so. “We have to keep building, eh? We have to get better,” he said in the customary short speech. “Let’s get another one next game!”
A performance like this should certainly give them confidence moving forward into their matchup with St. Louis on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena.
There were a lot of great choices for the helmet tonight, but one performance in particular was very special 💪 pic.twitter.com/UNGge1lVcR
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 28, 2023
Pittsburgh’s head coach preached simplicity in this unique circ*mstance, with the team traveling this morning after three full days off per CBA rules. The first period was uneventful as the Penguins got their legs under them, allowing themselves to get in the swing of things and establish their game.
“I thought we stayed patient and we didn’t force anything just to try to get some offense going, when it's a little slower period like that coming off a break,” Marcus Pettersson said.
The second period was a different story, as Pittsburgh exploded for six of their seven goals. They've scored more goals in a single period just three times in franchise history.
“We did a much better job just controlling territory, establishing some offensive zone time,” Sullivan said. “I think a lot of it starts in the neutral zone when we make good decisions with the puck, and I thought our guys did a real good job. I think that goes a long way to set the game up that we want to play.”
Rickard Rakell got it started with his second goal in as many games, his first two of the year after going through a season-opening slump and then a long-term injury. Jake Guentzel scored, the Islanders took a timeout, and then the winger scored again. They came 12 seconds apart, with only four players getting two goals faster in Penguins history.
“It's timely,” Sullivan said. “Those types of situations, I think – after goals are scored on either side or timeouts are taken and things of that nature - are opportunities for momentum to change, or to build. I thought when Jake scores that one, that was a huge one as far as building on the momentum that we had already established.”
Malkin followed that up with his pair of tallies, and then Radim Zohorna got on the board. That’s when Letang, as Sullivan mentioned, became the first defenseman in NHL history to record five points in a single period. The blueliner joined Dale Hawerchuk (5A on Mar. 6, 1984) as just the second player in league history to record five assists in one frame.
He got his sixth helper of the night in the third period, tying the NHL record for assists by a defenseman in a single game. Letang also tied the team record for assists in a game by any Penguins player in franchise history.
“It’s one of those nights that it seemed like everybody seems to score every time I gave it to them,” Letang said. “Obviously, it was pretty special.”
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) December 28, 2023Cute story from Kris Letang about his son to @Rupper17 on the @SNPittsburgh walk-off interview:
"Alex was actually talking to me before I left this morning. He said, I'm gonna watch the entire game. I'm like, no, no, no – we have to get going on the ice tomorrow morning…
"That's an unbelievable feat when you think about it, especially in today's game where the parity in the league is so high," Sullivan said. "Against a good team like the Islanders, it's not an easy thing to do. So, couldn't be happier for him. Obviously, he's an elite player for us."
That last setup came on Puustinen’s first NHL goal. The 2019 seventh-round pick has been a breakout star since getting recalled on Dec. 8 from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, where he’s spent parts of three seasons. The 24-year-old made an impact right away, adding a spark to Pittsburgh’s power play and skating on Malkin’s line in the top six.
Tonight, the Penguins moved him onto a line with Zohorna, as they’d spent time together in WBS. They clicked right away, with Puustinen getting the primary assist on his goal before Letang teed him up later in the game.
“It's always fun when you're the guy that sets up the first NHL goal. I think Sid has all of them!” Letang joked. “But it's cool. It's a special moment for the player, and you just saw in his face how special it was, how happy he was.”
Puustinen speaks to the media
Behind the offensive onslaught, Jarry quietly put together a terrific performance in his first game action since Dec. 16 in Toronto, as Alex Nedeljkovic had gotten a string of starts while playing well.
"For the past week that I wasn't playing, Ned was doing a great job, he was getting us lots of points," Jarry said. "When we have both goalies doing that, I think it's great for our team. It's great for the team success, and I think that puts us in a really good spot."
Jarry took advantage of some rare practice time in the days since that loss to the Leafs with goalie coach Andy Chiodo, saying "you don't get very much during the NHL season just with how many games that we play, so I think it's good sometimes that you get that break, and it keeps you sharp."
He looked sharp from the start, making22 saves to earn his league-leading fourth shutout in his 23rd game of the season. Johan Hedberg and Marc-Andre Fleury are the only two other goaltenders in Penguins history to record four shutouts in less games.
“He just made some key saves at key times. I think that's when he's at his best, and I thought he was at his best tonight,” Sullivan said.
Overall, it was just an excellent response coming off of a tough overtime loss to the Senators going into the break.
“When you come back and you're able to win the game against a division rival like this and somebody you're chasing, it's huge,” Letang said. “Getting some guys on the board, think of a guy like Rakell, he wants his confidence back, Jars has a shutout tonight. So, it's good to for some guys to get going like this.”
