MONTREAL, Quebec – To truly tell the full story of the Penguins’ dominant 6-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, you have to start two days earlier and a country away.
Back at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday, the Penguins turned up the volume to 11 during the third period full of urgency and edge, peppering Buffalo with 20 shots in the final 20 minutes. It didn’t make a difference on the scoreboard, as the club fell for the eighth time in 10 games, but it did provide a blueprint.
"Next game we've got to get a good start," defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. "Start with that desperate feeling that we had in the third because we're a good team when we play that way."
Mission accomplished.
Sidney Crosby, playing in just his third game since a symptomatic case of COVID-19 and just his fourth game overall, netted his first goal of the season about three-and-a-half minutes into the contest. Danton Heinen cashed in on his fifth goal of the season, as the much-maligned powerplay scored for the second consecutive game. Jake Guentzel continued his recent hot streak by finding the net through a screen, marking his third game in a row with a goal.
And that was just in the first period.
The Teddy Blueger line tacked on three more goals over the final two periods, as the center himself scored twice and Brock McGinn scored one.
Meanwhile, goalie Tristan Jarry started in the net for the eighth time in nine games. He wasn’t tested a ton but was sharp throughout to earn his first shutout of the season. The result was especially promising considering Jarry was coming off his worst two-game stretch of the season, allowing eight goals and posting a combined .843 save percentage against Washington and Buffalo.
With the victory, the Penguins (6-6-6, 16 points) snapped a three-game losing skid. After entering the game with the worst points percentage in the Metro Division, the club earned just its fourth regulation win of the season as, possibly, they begin the climb out of the division basement.
The six-goal outburst matched the second-highest scoring total of the season and was much-needed considering how anemic the offense had been of late. From Oct. 26 when the 10-game skid began until Thursday’s puck drop, Pittsburgh tallied just 19 goals and one shootout winner, making them the third lowest-scoring team during that stretch.
The success with the man-advantage and the two-goal night was especially noteworthy considering the inconsistent outputs from those respective areas early in the year.
Now, if we are telling the full story of the game, it’s fair to point out that Montreal is a floundering team. After overachieving last year to reach the Stanley Cup Final, the Canadiens have come back to earth. They are also missing one of the game’s great netminders, as Carey Price spent the first month of the season in the NHL’s player assistance program for substance abuse. Montreal (4-13-2) entered the game with just 10 points, second-worst in the Eastern Conference, and wouldn’t do much of anything to prove they don’t belong there.
Still, the Penguins took advantage of an opportunity to snap their skid and begin a three-game road trip on a positive note. The jaunt through Eastern Canada continues on Saturday in Toronto before concluding Monday in Winnipeg.
