MONTREAL — The Penguins have many issues, but for the time being, secondary scoring isn’t one of them.
They earned their sixth win in eight games in resounding fashion in Montreal on Thursday, pummeling the Canadiens in a 9-2 rout that featured a Bryan Rust hat trick.
And yet, a strange trend continued.
Sidney Crosby did have three assists against Montreal but he doesn’t have a goal in the Penguins’ recent surge, and has only two goals in his past 17 games. Evgeni Malkin, a pretty consistent force all season, didn’t muster a single point in this game.
But the offense came in droves from everyone else.
Along with Rust’s hat trick, Rickard Rakell scored twice to help the top line to quite an evening. Kris Letang scored a goal in his hometown. Also contributing goals were role players Anthony Beauvillier, Matt Nieto and Noel Acciari.
The Penguins have scored 36 goals in their past games, a healthy 4.5 goals-per-game average. Crosby and Malkin have combined for one goal in that stretch.
Scoring of any kind, let alone depth scoring, is always welcome. So, too, was a blowout victory like this.
“It feels nice even though it’s only one game,” Rust said. “But I think it’s good for everyone’s confidence to see this many pucks go into the net.”
The Penguins weren’t particularly good in the game’s first 30 minutes, relying on a strong Tristan Jarry performance to keep the game even. The verdict remained in doubt through two periods, but then the Penguins erupted for six goals in a 14:02 span in the third period to turn this game into an absolute laugher.
“We’re obviously proud of the group,” Mike Sullivan said. “I thought we competed hard. I thought it was a lot closer game than the score indicated.”
Ten postgame observations
• Rust has produced just like Jake Guentzel since Guentzel, one of his closest friends, was traded last season.
Since that deal, Rust has produced 22 goals and 40 points in 44 games. Not bad.
Following the game, I asked Sullivan about the pride he feels in the player that Rust has become. Remember, when Sullivan joined the Penguins’ organization in 2015, he coached Rust in Wilkes-Barre.
“It gives me a ton of pride,” Sullivan said. “What I think about him, when I coached him in Wilkes-Barre in 2015, he wasn’t even on our first power play. In Wilkes-Barre. He was a second-line player for us, a checking, energy guy who could really skate. When he entered the (NHL), he was a fourth-line guy who moved his way around the lineup.”
Now, he’s essentially a point-per-game player and Crosby’s most preferred winger.
“He was just a kid back then,” Sullivan said. “Now he’s married with kids. And he’s evolved into a really good NHL player.”
Few players have earned the respect of the entire organization like Rust.
“He’s an honest player,” Sullivan said. “He’s evolved offensively to the point that he’s a 30-goal scorer. He’s just a complete player. He’s a Penguin.”
• Rust also scored a goal on the play he always makes, where he skates down his backhand side along the left-wing boards, beats a defenseman and then cuts violently to his forehand before beating the goaltender.
Mike Matheson was the victim this time.
“It’s something that I’m comfortable doing,” Rust said. “Tonight was a little different. I was able to add some hesitation. If you get a step on a defender, go to the net and good things are usually going to happen.”
More of this in the third.
The final frame starts now! pic.twitter.com/AvCuZjczSs
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 13, 2024
His teammates came away quite impressed with his latest beauty with his patented move.
“It’s great,” Marcus Pettersson said. “It’s very subtle. He’s fast and he has that hesitation move. He got (Moritz) Seider with it earlier this year. He got Matheson tonight. And then he got (Lane) Hutson on the (Rakell) goal in the third.”
• Following the morning skate on Thursday, Letang was proudly walking around the Bell Center with his son, Alex.
Playing in Montreal means a lot to Letang, especially when his family is in attendance.
His performance couldn’t have started in worse fashion when his giveaway led to Montreal’s opening goal.
But he redeemed himself in a huge way.
Letang set up Rakell with a beautiful pass to help the Penguins draw even.
He later added his sixth goal of the season and his second goal of this campaign in Montreal.
“It’s always nice to do that here when your family is in the crowd,” he said. “It was special.”
• Jarry’s tendency to allow a goal on the first shot of the game is nearing historical levels.
It’s now happened five times in 12 starts this season for Jarry.
Most of these goals haven’t been his fault, but still, the statistic is absolutely staggering.
Un autre qui va se retrouver dans la compilation de faits saillants
Another 1-4 the highlight reel#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/Xa1Eone2G3
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 13, 2024
• Jarry, however, was really good the rest of the game. Really, really good.
“I thought he was great especially during a couple of flurries in the first period when we weren’t playing great,” Rust said.
Jarry stopped a couple of breakaways, and looked noticeably sharp most of the night. He’s now won five of his past six starts.
If not for the offensive eruptions that we witnessed in the second half of this game, Jarry would have been the story. I didn’t expect him to get the start after the way he played against Colorado and when considering Sullivan’s disappointment with that outing. Instead, Sullivan went right back with him.
It was the right call.
• It was an interesting night for Crosby, who entered the game in a funk. He was not good in the first 30 minutes of this game, showing some visible frustration, slamming the bench door shut after a shift in which his turnover gave the Canadiens a breakaway. His body language, quite frankly, wasn’t good.
Suddenly, he came to life and finished the evening with three assists. After each point he recorded, you could see Crosby’s confidence level grow. He started challenging defenders and beating them.
Maybe this is the game that will get him going. He was in very good spirits afterward.
• Nieto scored a goal for the first time since Nov. 5 of last year. Good for him. Many players wouldn’t have been able to return from the injury he sustained last season but this is a person with a considerable amount of perseverance.
• He didn’t have a point in this game, but I loved Erik Karlsson’s performance. I thought it was one of his best games of the season. His trajectory is absolutely moving up.
Karlsson is starting to eliminate the bad decisions that plagued him during the season’s first month. He’s also making some beautiful plays that shouldn’t go unnoticed.
I don’t know how high his ceiling is at 34. But there’s still plenty of offensive genius in his game. The self-inflicted wounds that have been a Penguins’ trademark are lessening these days, and Karlsson is a huge reason why. He’s getting much better.
• On the surface, two below-average teams were playing on a Thursday night in December. Nothing to get too excited about, right?
Don’t tell Montreal fans.
I’ve covered dozens of games in this building so I know the atmosphere is always exceptional. But this was really something. It felt like a playoff game throughout the evening, even though it decidedly was not.
From the always hospitable welcome for Crosby to hollering on every hit, it was a truly spectacular hockey atmosphere on Thursday night.
Montreal giving Sidney Crosby love, as always. pic.twitter.com/V1KtvD8CMv
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) December 13, 2024
Like I always say, make sure you see a game in Montreal at some point in your life.
• The Penguins will conclude their brief Canadian swing in Ottawa on Saturday. They historically struggle in that building.
Saturday also marks the Penguins’ final game of the season in Canada. Eight of their first 32 games were scheduled for north of the border.
(Photo: David Kirouac / Imagn Images)
