PITTSBURGH — The Penguins, suddenly the hottest team in the NHL, had much to be thankful for at the end of this year’s annual Thanksgiving Eve game at PPG Paints Arena.
Bryan Rust scored for the first time since the opener. Zach Aston-Reese finally got his first goal. Tristan Jarry served up another scrumptious start. Their power play clicked Wednesday. And eight Penguins showed up on the scoresheet.
Oh, and the 4-1 victory over Vancouver was Pittsburgh’s fourth in a row.
The Penguins dominated the first period, firing 16 shots on goal. On an early power play, Sidney Crosby was left alone with the puck in front for so long he could have stuffed two turkeys, but he couldn’t beat Thatcher Demko. They also had six chances off the rush, per Sportlogiq. Even Brian Dumoulin barged in alone.
The game remained scoreless after the first period, largely due to Demko. But the Penguins beat him early in the second then poured it on in that period.
The Pittsburgh power play came up empty on its first two opportunities. But with a Canuck in the box and a clean sheet of ice, the Penguins scored 49 seconds into the second period. Beautiful puck movement set up Rust’s one-time blast.
That was Rust’s first goal since the Oct. 12 season opener down in Tampa.
“It’s been a little bit of up and down. … There’s been times when I’ve been good, making plays and feeling good. And there’s times when I’ve had lapses,” Rust said last week before the Penguins boarded the team plane up to Montreal.
On that day, the winger also predicted that the top line would soon get it going with Crosby knocking off the rust. He would be right. Jake Guentzel extended his scoring streak to five games, though that ended Wednesday. Crosby got one in Montreal. And Rust now has four points in four games since that conversation.
Evan Rodrigues sniped Demko from an acute angle to make it 2-0. Then with 4:40 left in the second period, Aston-Reese finished off a 3-on-1 rush for his first goal in his 17 games played this season. Brock McGinn put it on a platter for him.
Despite winning that period, 3-0, the Penguins did have some slippage defensively in the second. Fortunately, Jarry maintained his spectacular level of play.
When it was still 2-0, Brock Boeser streaked down the right wing. Jarry, who grew up just outside Vancouver, swatted his shot away with his glove. That led to a loud “Jarry! Jarry! Jarry!” chant from the near-sellout crowd inside the arena.
Jarry also stuffed J.T. Miller on an early breakaway and kept out Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s tap-in try midway through the third.
Bo Horvat, with a heck of an effort, spoiled his latest shutout bid with 5:08 left.
Jarry was just picking up where he had left off in Canada, where he posted a pair of shutouts and stopped 80 of 81 for an eye-popping .988 save percentage.
“He’s been so solid,” Danton Heinen said earlier this week. “It’s been awesome to see. I’m super happy for him and we’re happy we have him back there.”
The Penguins were back at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday after their undefeated three-game visit to Canada. They out-scored those opponents, 11-1. They were perfect on the penalty kill. And their power play, now gathering momentum, was merely a few seconds away from going 3 for 4 during that road trip.
“Overall, the battle level we had and the urgency we had throughout the entire trip was really good,” Jason Zucker said after Monday’s 3-1 victory in Winnipeg. “And we stayed with it for 60 minutes in every game, which was huge for us.”
That continued that on home ice Wednesday, handling the Canucks easily.
Continuity has helped. Wednesday made it five games in a row with the current lineup, which includes a recently-formed third line centered by Rodrigues and three cohesive defensive pairs, starting with Dumoulin and Kris Letang.
“Having that consistent [lineup], I think everybody is really finding their chemistry and their roles with their linemates,” McGinn said after the morning skate.
The Penguins are back on the ice Friday when they make their first visit to UBS Arena, the new home of the New York Islanders. Six of their next seven games are on the road, including a long trip through Western Canada and then to Seattle.
