It’s been six years since the Pittsburgh Penguins scored nine goals in a single game. On Thursday night at the Bell Centre, the visitors erupted for six third-period goals en route to a 9-2 blowout of the Montreal Canadiens, their largest margin of victory against the Original Six franchise.
Even though we could talk all day about how the Penguins spread out their offense, with 14 players finding the scoresheet, we will discuss several other takeaways from the team’s biggest victory thus far this season.
Penguins Feasted on Weak Goaltending
The Canadiens starter, Sam Montembeault, was recently selected for Team Canada for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-off despite having a 9-12-2 record with 3.01 GAA and .901 SV%.
He finished Thursday night with 20 saves on 26 shots (.769 SV%), getting pulled after 48 minutes. His partner, Cayden Primeau, didn’t far any better, stopping only three of his seven shots to finish the game with a .571 SV%.
The game was only 3-2 in favor of the Penguins headed into the third, and then everything fell apart for Montreal. The lopsided loss to Pittsburgh is the second time in the calendar year that the Canadiens have given up nine goals (Boston Apr. 1) and the fifth time in the past eight years.
Loss in the Shuffle was Jarry’s Outstanding Performance
On Tuesday, Jarry had a bad game against the Colorado Avalanche, giving up five goals and compiling a .808 SV%. The defeat ended his four-game win streak, meaning he needed a bounce-back performance north of the border.
Despite giving up the game’s first goal on the first shot he faced, Jarry responded and finished the night with his fifth win in the past six games, turning away 21 Canadiens attempts.
Related: Inside The Numbers: Penguins Continue To Have NHL’s Worst Goalie Statistics
They say goalies need to be a team’s best penalty killer, and Jarry kept the Penguins afloat by preventing Montreal from scoring on their four powerplay opportunities.
Of course, when the team in front of you scores nine goals, the winning goalie’s performance usually gets lost in the shuffle. Even though Jarry has had his fair share of struggles this season, he’s been one of the best Penguins players in the past two weeks and one of the top reasons the team is 6-2-0 in their past eight.
You Get a Point, and You Get a Point, Everyone Gets a Point
The Penguins became the first team to tally nine goals against an opponent this season. Of the 20 skaters in the lineup, 14 registered a point, led by Bryan Rust’s four-point night, featuring a hat trick.
Meanwhile, Rickard Rakell had four points, and Sidney Crosby had one of the quietest three-point nights of the year. The only Pittsburgh forwards without a point were Philip Tomasino and Evgeni Malkin.
Montreal native Kris Letang had a goal and assist, while Matt Nieto scored his first goal of the season, lighting the lamp for the first time on Nov. 4, 2023.
There’s no denying that the Penguins’ offensive outburst on Thursday was impressive, but prospectively, they did something special against the 29th-ranked team in the NHL.
The Canadiens have the league’s worst goal differential and are closer to a top draft pick than a wild card spot, so let’s see if Pittsburgh can carry the momentum into their next game.
Penguins & Canadiens Trivia Answers
How did you score in our Game Day Trivia quiz? Here are the answers.
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Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis
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Frank Pietrangelo
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Wally Boyer
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Craig Adams
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Luca Caputi
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Denis Herron
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Noel Price
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66
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Marc-Andre Fleury
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Mario Lemieux, Martin Straka
