When the Pittsburgh Penguins embarked on their three-game California road swing at the beginning of the week, they had begun the season 2-1 and hoped to continue carrying that momentum on the West Coast.
And – by and large – they were able to do so.
After going 1-1 in their first two games of the trip against the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings, the Penguins ended their road swing Saturday on a winning note, as they beat the San Jose Sharks, 3-0. The win puts Pittsburgh at 4-2 on the season, while the Sharks have yet to find themselves in the win column with an 0-3-2 record.
After a first period where the Penguins had 18 shots on goal and dominated possession in the first half – and the Sharks nearly capitalized on some high-danger opportunities in the back half – the second period also saw the teams trade chances. The Penguins were the first to strike at 7:35 of the middle frame, when Kris Letang floated a shot toward the goal and toward ex-Penguin goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.
On the puck’s way in, Sidney Crosby flashed his hand-eye coordination and got the shaft of his stick on it for a deflection, which resulted in the game’s first goal. The score remained 1-0 heading into the final frame.
And in that final frame – again – there were a few odd-man breaks both ways. Finally, on one of them a tick more than seven minutes into the third, Evgeni Malkin made a nice play around the offensive blue line to get the puck to a red-hot Justin Brazeau, who cut around a defender and toward the middle of the ice for a two-on-one involving him and Anthony Mantha.
Brazeau slipped a beautiful backhand pass under the stick of Nick Leddy and over to a breaking Mantha at the right circle, and Mantha took possession of the puck and sniped one in the upper-left corner and past Nedeljkovic to put the Penguins ahead, 2-0.
To cap it off, Evgeni Malkin took a nice, long pass from Sidney Crosby and put the puck home in the empty net, which finalized the score at 3-0.
Here are some notes and observations from this game:
– San Jose has some legitimate young talent, especially at the forward position.
But, man, this team looks a far cry away from contending.
As poorly as individual Penguins’ players lapsed defensively at times during this game, there weren’t too many systemic issues as far as team defense. San Jose, on the other end, has a long way to go defensively – team and individual – before they can think about competing with their young roster.
The Penguins may not end up being very good this year, but they’ll probably be better than the Sharks.
How 3 Former Penguins Are Performing With Their New Teams In 2025-26
A couple of former Pittsburgh Penguins players from last season are off to solid starts this year, while another is looking to shrug off a slow start.
– The youngsters Ben Kindel and Harrison Brunicke were absolutely fantastic in this game.
Kindel had a shift in the first period when he got about four shots off at the net front. He was noticeable all night in every zone, and his smarts were evident throughout. There was one play I especially liked where the puck was dumped deeper in the offensive zone along the left wall and behind the net, and most players would have thought to chase it.
Not Kindel. While a couple of Sharks chased it, he recognized the play, changed his route, came in from the right side of the net, got to it first, and immediately set up Tommy Novak – who just mishandled it – for a scoring chance in the slot off a nice feed. It was a remarkable show of intelligence from a young player.
And Brunicke was brilliant in the offensive zone. There was one play in the second period when he made a move to cut into the slot, and he fired a shot off the goal post. The release on the shot was a thing of beauty. He was also walking the offensive blue line and cycling around the offensive zone with ease and confidence.
He still needs some work on his reads jumping into plays, as he gets caught up-ice defensively sometimes and lets guys get behind him, a juniors habit that should get better with time. But his skating and his confidence with the puck on his stick is mesmerizing.
These guys should be here beyond their respective game nines.
– Brazeau continues to impress. I never realized his hands were this soft, but for a big man, there is a lot of finesse to his game.
Now that Mantha is heating up, too, that big second line is hard to play against for the opposition. Malkin has nine points in six games, too, and looks like his vintage self.
Penguins’ Top Goaltending Prospect Off To Hot Start In AHL
After an eye-opening training camp, a top Pittsburgh Penguins‘ goaltending prospect is enjoying a hot start to his AHL season.
– This was another relatively quiet game from the top line. It’s only a matter of time before they turn on the jets and get going, but I would like to see more from them.
At some point, I’d also love to see Kindel get some time with Crosby. I think they’d be brilliant together.
– Kris Letang’s early-season play has been less than inspiring. It’s still early, and there is plenty of time for him to turn things around, especially since his partner, Ryan Shea, has been brilliant.
But Father Time surely isn’t on his side, and it seems like his skating has lost a big step. Hopefully, he can right the ship, but he may need to adapt his game a bit in order to do so.
– The Penguins are back at home Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks, and it’s likely that Arturs Silovs will get the start against his old team.
Both Penguins’ goaltenders have put together good showings in their most recent performance. Head coach Dan Muse has been directly rotating them, and I’d expect that to continue into the coming games.
Should Silovs Be The Penguins’ Starting Goaltender?
Heading into the 2025-26 season, Pittsburgh Penguins‘ head coach said Dan Muse that he didn’t have a concrete plan for the goaltending split between Tristan Jarry and Arturs Silovs.
Bookmark THN – Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
