The Penguins needed a pick-me-up after a disastrous game in Detroit on Tuesday. They got the boost they needed with the return of Tristan Jarry to the net and went out and beat the Predators last night. Here’s Paul Steigerwald. (2-0 win. Goals by Zucker and Guentzel.)
Coach Mike Sullivan said the Penguins put together a playoff-style effort.
Sullivan says the Penguins played well in front of Jarry in the defensive zone.
Jarry says that with the end-of-season push for the playoffs, the Pens need to be solid.
The Florida Panthers won their second straight game, 5-2 over Montreal, to keep pace with the Penguins, just a point behind the Pens for the final Wild Card playoff spot in the East.
Jarry says the win means a lot to the Pens.
Jason Zucker says the Predators made the Penguins play like it was a playoff game.
It gets tougher for the Penguins this weekend, with the Boston Bruins, who clinched the Presidents Trophy last night for the best regular season record in hockey, coming to PPG Paints Arena tomorrow afternoon, followed on Sunday by a visit from the Philadelphia Flyers.
While the Penguins are absorbed with their desperate push for the playoffs, they also are looking to the future. Yesterday, they assigned last year’s number one draft choice, defenseman Owen Pickering, to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Pickering’s junior team just wrapped up its season. He led Swift Current’s defenseman this season with 45 points, including nine goals.
