BUFFALO, N.Y. – Saturday’s game at KeyBank Center, as expected, provided little intrigue. The Penguins once again handled the Buffalo Sabres in a 3-2 win.
Even as the Sabres made their last push, it never really seemed fathomable that they could actually beat the Penguins. Are they even allowed to do that?
The sleepy afternoon matinee did give the Penguins another chance to evaluate their new line of Jeff Carter and wingers Jared McCann and Jason Zucker.
Two games are a small sample, especially when one was against a Sabres team that was icing a mix of fringe NHLers and underwhelming recent draft picks. But in the last three days, the Carter line has looked like a potential playoff option.
Coach Mike Sullivan said he liked what he has seen from those three so far.
“[Carter’s] line was pretty good again,” Sullivan said. “I think they’re talking to one another in between shifts. Jeff’s still trying to learn our team concept and how we’re trying to play. But I thought his line was pretty good [Saturday].”
That trio displayed instant chemistry Thursday in their first game together, a 2-1 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter in particular came close on a couple of occasions during his Penguins debut. But his line couldn’t quite score.
It didn’t take them long to light the lamp two days later at KeyBank Center.
McCann gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead midway through the first period. From the corner, he saw Dustin Tokarski scrambling back to his post and cleverly banked in a shot off the former Penguins farmhand for his seventh goal in 11 games.
The Penguins out-shot the Sabres, 9-4, when Carter was on the ice at 5-on-5. And that line had a really strong shift with a few minutes remaining to help them bleed down the clock. They were out-chanced, 5-4, by their opposition, though.
Their line was on the ice for one goal in both games. To be fair, each one was a little fluky, coming on a scramble drill after a failed clearing attempt.
But when it comes to the offensive end, McCann thinks the line has been “great.” Of course, he feels that way. He has put a dozen total shots on goal.
“We’re getting chances,” McCann said. “Jeff is a guy who kind of brings a level of confidence when you’re out on the ice with him. You can trust him. He obviously has the speed still and can fly out there. So you’re just trying to find him. He does the same with me, right? He’s trying to find me. So it’s been good.”
The line makes a lot of sense on paper. McCann’s speed and wrist shot are more useful on the wing. Carter skates well for a 6-foot-3 man and will battle in front of both nets. And Zucker, if the puck would actually start sticking to his blade again, is a one-time 30-goal scorer who has useful short-area playmaking skills.
Sullivan agreed, saying that he thought their skill sets are “complementary.”
In coaching circles, there are two schools of thought about acclimating deadline pick-ups such as Carter, who came over from Los Angeles on Monday.
One argues that with such a short runway to the playoffs it’s best to let a player build chemistry with a couple of guys. The other is that the you-know-what will surely hit the fan at some point during the postseason, so it is beneficial to get a feel for how the new player would perform with various teammates.
Sullivan was asked Saturday what the plan is for Carter going forward.
“Are we going to move him around? It all depends on who’s available to us and what the lineup looks like,” Sullivan said. “But right now, given the lineup that we have, we think this is the best combination that gives us the balance that we want and surrounds the right people with what they need to be successful.”
If McCann, Carter and Zucker continue to click, the Penguins would suddenly have a formidable third line with a two-time Stanley Cup-winner in Carter in the middle. And that would make filling out the lineup card a lot easier for Sullivan.
The top line of Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust is one of the league’s best in terms of 200-foot impact. So that one should be set in cement.
Evgeni Malkin and Kasperi Kapanen, barring a setback as they work their way back from their respective injuries, should be reunited on the second line.
Sullivan could then put Brandon Tanev or Evan Rodrigues on Malkin’s left-wing and slot in the other guy alongside Teddy Blueger and Zach Aston-Reese.
Rodrigues and Blueger teamed up for a goal in the second period Saturday. Both pressured Dylan Cozen in the corner, forcing the young Sabres center to try to flip a pass to his teammate. Blueger swatted that down, spun and spotted Rodrigues, who put his shot from the slot over the outstretched glove of Tokarski.
“Those two are awesome. They’re so easy to play with,” Rodrigues said of Blueger and Aston-Reese, a pair of shutdown forwards. “They’re both really smart hockey players. They’re really easy to read off of. They’re two guys that just make the simple play, do the right thing. And we seem to be jelling pretty quick.”
After Rodrigues scored, the Sabres soon got a goal from Tage Thompson after Tristan Jarry’s clearing attempt was thwarted. But Rust, on a power play, flicked a firm pass from Crosby past Tokarski’s left toe to restore the two-goal lead.
Casey Mittelstadt scored on a power play with 8:16 left to pull the Sabres back within a goal. Then they hit the post with under three minutes remaining. But the Penguins held on to improve to 5-0-0 against the Sabres this season.
The Penguins and Sabres will play again here Sunday. Puck drops at 3 p.m.
