Penguins’ Final Auditions; Winners & Losers vs. CBJ

COLUMBUS — The Pittsburgh Penguins had only two credited shots in the second period against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but a grinding effort by prospect Ville Koivunen put a tap-in goal at the feet of Valtteri Puustinen. The Penguins owned the play in the latter half of the second period and built momentum.

The score between the Penguins group of prospects, hopefuls, and Kevin Hayes against the Columbus NHL roster was 1-1 after 40 minutes.

But this is preseason, and just like Whose Line Is It, the score doesn’t matter. The game was the final audition for most of the Penguins roster as cuts will come this weekend following the Penguins’ final preseason game Friday against the same Columbus sweaters at PPG Paints Arena.

More than the score, it’s about the efforts, about showing competitive fire and making an impact on the game. The Penguins had several winners in that regard. In fact, the team was very good after the first 10 or 15 minutes.

“I think we have some young players who are part of our organization that we feel really strongly are going to be impact players,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “You know, the question is when.”

After 40 minutes, the Columbus NHL’ers outshot the Penguins 20-12, and the Penguins defended well in the third period, limiting good scoring chances as Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry played the entire game, stopping 33 of 34 in the 3-1 win.

Puustinen, Jonathan Gruden, and Kevin Hayes scored the goals. Hayes’s tally was the empty netter.

“To a man competed really hard. I thought we got better as the game went on. You know, the first five, seven minutes of the game, I think, you know, against an NHL lineup, I thought it was a little bit of an eye opener for some of our guys and how quick things happen out there. But I thought we settled in and, you know, we started to we started to make plays. We had more awareness around the clock. I know what we’re going to do with it before it came to us. And that’s a big part of playing this league. So I think as a group in general, I thought it was a really solid effort from the top to bottom.

Penguins Winners

Ville Koivunen: A+

The Penguins prospect has been a work in progress since arriving from Finland last April to play in a pair of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton playoff games. He has looked like a player swallowed up by the adjustment from the Finnish league to North American pro hockey. His biggest problem was trying to slow the play but having his lunch money taken as he did so.

On Thursday, something clicked. Koivunen, 21, began aggressively hunting the puck and smartly distributing it around the offensive zone. He created the Penguins’ goal by winning a puck battle behind the Columbus net and quickly setting up Puustinen.

“I think he’s getting used to the size and the strength of the players and the pace of the game,” Sullivan said. “But you can see how smart and how well he thinks the game. I think he really sees it. And so we’re encouraged with what we saw there.”

On the following shift, he raced after the puck and created a turnover, and the Penguins again had a couple of scoring chances. The line with center Tristan Broz, Koivunen, and Puustinen got stronger as the game progressed.

It’s too late for Koivunen to make the NHL roster, but building on that kind of offensive smarts and effort could make him an exciting prospect to watch over the next few months and possibly get him to the NHL.

Rutger McGroarty: A

He’s been lost in the shuffle over the past week, but he also rode the wave of momentum in the second period. He chased down a Columbus puck carrier on the forecheck, knocked him to the ice, and set in motion a few offensive chances, including a good look for himself.

“McGroarty is a really smart player, and he’s got a strong stick,” Sullivan said. “He’s pretty good on the wall. So, I think his game is growing and evolving.”

McGroarty looked like he belonged with center Kevin Hayes and winger Jesse Puljujarvi. They began to physically take over their Columbus hosts. The boys chirped each other as PHN chatted with McGroarty.

Yeah, the kid is fitting right in. Whether he sticks or not will be the toughest call the coaches and management make.

Jesse Puljujarvi: A

We’re moving the Puljujarvi chances to about 99% he makes the final roster. If making an impact is the criterion, he did so. He was physical in the defensive and offensive zones, found open spots for Hayes to feed him, and should have had a second-period goal. He cleanly beat Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins with a nasty wrister, but it clanked the crossbar.

He and Hayes are a definite combo. We also like McGroarty on that line, but that’s a numbers game for Sullivan and Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas.

Owen Pickering: A

Pickering might not have been overtly visible on the limited viewing of the stream available to fans, but we keyed on the big defenseman to see how he handled NHL competition (again). He passed with flying colors, including some standout moments in the third period.

Early in the third, he nullified a one-on-one scoring chance, sending his team in transition for the go-ahead goal. In the middle of the third period, he activated. Realizing that Columbus wasn’t covering him, he took the puck to the net and got a good chance on Merzlikins, who made the save.

He protected his net when challenged, he took smart angles on the rush, and he used his reach to quickly win several puck battles that weren’t his to win. During the momentum wave in the second period, he was the third stick in the rush and had a great look from the slot, but the shot was disrupted from behind by a lunging Columbus forward.

In fairness, the only thing we questioned was his penalty kill late in the third period. I think he took an awkward angle to the wall, leaving a shooting/passing lane. That’s easily correctable.

We just really liked his game. He got to pucks, poked them to the proper spots for his forwards to possess them, nullified plays with tight gaps, and made zero mistakes.

All things being even (contracts and age not considered), Pickering has shown he’s worthy of a real NHL shot. The cold reality is the business side probably means he goes to WBS, but the 2022 first-round pick’s progression has been significant.

Not Winners

Sam Poulin

This was a good game for Poulin. He played solidly, and he had some good moments, but did he stand above his competition? His big moment was taking the puck to the net in the third period, but his shot was deflected. He is solid, he played hard, and there isn’t anything to knock. He made the roster decision tougher, but he’s a victim of numbers. Puljujarvi and McGroarty, and others played as well, if not better.

“I thought Sam Poulin had some strong shifts,” Sullivan said as he rattled off praise for several players.

He’s an NHL player, but probably not with the Penguins. If he sneaks through waivers, the team will have a good call-up waiting in the wings.

John Ludvig

He began training camp in the mix for the depth defenseman role, but he hasn’t shown himself to be one of the best eight defensemen. He’s had some blah efforts throughout camp. Sullivan said Thursday was Ludvig’s best effort, but we were a little unconvinced.

Valtteri Puustinen

Like Poulin, Puustinen’s NHL future is hanging by a thread. He was good on Thursday, but did he overcome his deficit? Probably not. He played a perfectly competent game, and perhaps that’s not his game to be a standout; he’s a finisher, which he did.

The question is: Was he better than McGroarty or Puljujarvi?