Browsing: Scrimmage

The Pittsburgh Penguins held their first scrimmage of training camp on Wednesday.

The scrimmage lasted approximately an hour, with one 25-minute period held at the Covestro Rink and the other at the FedEx Rink. Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, and Avery Hayes were on the top line for Team Black, while Evgeni Malkin, Anthony Mantha, and Danton Heinen were on the top line for Team White.

Team White won the scrimmage by two, 5-3, thanks to a hat trick from Kris Letang. He was everywhere on the ice, skating methodically and showcasing his shot throughout. After Sam Poulin opened the scoring for Team Black, Letang scored the next two goals to give Team White a 2-1 lead.

Letang’s second goal was especially impressive, beating Jarry with a one-timer that went in and out of the net in what felt like a millisecond. He later got a hat trick on a penalty shot after getting tripped near the boards. Letang was paired with Ryan Graves for most of the scrimmage and skated fluidly throughout.

Outside of Letang, let’s look at a few other players who stood out during the scrimmage.

The entire Heinen-Malkin-Mantha line

Evgeni Malkin was on the top line for Team White and his line was living in the offensive zone during the scrimmage. He set up Danton Heinen with a sick behind-the-back pass near the boards for a mini breakaway and Heinen buried the puck to give his team a 3-2 lead.

Letang would later get the eventual game-winning goal, but Anthony Mantha would put the exclamation point on the game at the end of the second period with a snipe past Maxim Pavlenko to make it 5-3. Pavlenko played the entire secon period after Tristan Jarry played the first.

Training camp has only been going for a week, but due to the chemistry that Malkin and Mantha already have, it would be a surprise if they didn’t start the season together on the second line.

Sam Poulin

Poulin opened the scoring for Team with a nice shot that beat Sergei Murashov five-hole in the opening period. Outside of that, he played a methodical game and was on a line with Gabe Klassen and Boko Imama.

Even though it was only a scrimmage, Poulin needed a performance like this since he looked rough during Monday’s preseason game against the Canadiens. He now needs it to translate to other preseason games since he’s still likely on the outside looking in for a full-time roster spot.

Sergei Murashov

After he was arguably the Penguins’ best player during Monday’s preseason game, Murashov carried that momentum into Wednesday’s scrimmage.

He played the entire scrimmage since Joel Blomqvist is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and made a tremendous save on Crosby when it looked like he had a sure goal from about 10-15 feet out. Murashov flashed the glove on Crosby, which drew some nice cheers from the crowd that was on hand to watch the scrimmage. His positioning was also rock-solid during both periods.

Murashov continues to be the best goaltender at training camp, but it remains to be seen if he crack the opening night roster. This isn’t a prospect that the Penguins want to rush.

The Penguins will play their second preseason game on Wednesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Puck drop will be at 7 p.m. ET, and fans can watch the game live on the Penguins’ official website.

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