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Pittsburgh Penguins preseason: Insight From Inside the Arena

By Nicholas Treu |

Tonight I was lucky enough to be one of the 12,000 fans inside Consol Energy Center to witness the Pittsburgh Penguins debut of Phil Kessel and returns of Kris Letang, Pascal Dupuis and Olli Maatta as the Pens put up a touchdown, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 7-3.

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While some of Carolina’s stars such as Eric Staal and Jordan Staal didn’t play, they had a couple of their regulars in Justin Faulk, James Wisniewski, Nathan Gerbe and Jeff Skinner dress tonight. Not that it mattered as the Penguins stars connected early and often.

Thankfully, I wasn’t at the mercy of a camera crew for Kessel’s first game in the black and gold and I was able to watch for key items that I wanted to pay close attention to. Below are a  few of my impressions that may not have been evident on the TV broadcast.

Dupuis Drew Cheers Upon His First Check

After missing the majority of the last two seasons with an ACL tear and blood clot, Pascal Dupuis is back and healthy once again. During the first power play of the evening for the Penguins, he registered his first hit and the crowd recognized him with an ovation. He has worked extremely hard to get back out there and hopefully he can stay healthy this season and going forward.

Dupuis was flying last night, just as we’ve come to expect from him. If that was any indication of what this season will bring, he’ll be the same player Pens’ fans have grown to love.

Malkin is Still a Beast

This could probably go without saying but Malkin really stood out in the first period and was the best player on the ice. The passes he made to set up Letang and Maatta for their goals were some of the prettier passes you’ll see showing his patience and skill level. He looked engaged and ready to go using his big body to shield off defenders and set up his teammates. He is going to have a monster year for this team.

Geno also took the opportunity to throw a check along the boards in defense of a teammate getting blatantly interfered with. Preseason? Malkin is already in regular season form.

Maatta and Letang Joining the Rush

We have heard that Mike Johnson loves his defensemen to join the rush and contribute offensively. We got a taste of that on the Maatta and Letang goals. The Pittsburgh Penguins have the players that have a high enough hockey sense and IQ to stop and look for the trailing defenseman on the rush for a one timer. If the Penguins can continue to find the trailing defenseman, they are going to be tough to stop.

The Hurricanes Torched Brian Dumoulin and Sergei Gonchar

This should be concerning to the coaching staff. In my opinion, Dumoulin did not play well at all last night. He looked very indecisive and out of position a lot. While Gonchar did score a power play goal, his age showed. He looked slow and made some poor decisions with the puck. Dumoulin’s play should be monitored more closely as he projects to have a larger role than any Gonchar would have this season.

Adam Clendening and Ian Cole Looked Great Together

As disappointing as Dumoulin and Gonchar played, Clendening and Cole’s play almost made up for it. We saw what Ian Cole could do last year and he continued to prove that bringing him back on his recently signed three year contract was the right move by Jim Rutherford.

Clendening had a tremendous game. His decision making and chemistry with Ian Cole were really outstanding. His game reminds me a little of Cole’s and the two worked well together. That is something to monitor going forward.

Daniel Sprong continues to impress

We’ve heard since camp opened that Sprong has looked great. Remember, He scored the OT winner a couple weeks ago in London, Ontario in the Penguins prospect game against the Montreal Canadiens’ prospects.

He picked up right where he left off last night, scoring a smooth power play goal after skating in off the half wall.

The puck just seems to explode off his stick, as he almost converted in the first period as well off of a pass from Sidney Crosby.

He needs to work on his defensive game a bit and continue to develop in other areas, but my goodness, this kid is going to be something special when he comes into the NHL. His skill level is extremely high.

Kessel and Crosby develop chemistry right in front of our eyes

Through most of the first period, the line of Crosby, Kessel and Chris Kunitz seemed to have a little trouble finding each other and their timing was a bit off. This is their first game together and it is probably to be expected. But, they quickly figured it out as they scored a tic-tac-toe beauty at the end of the first period:

Crosby and Kessel again combined for a goal in the second as Sid found him in front for a tip. The only dull spot was Kessel deferring to Sid a little too much trying to force passes. Again, it is early in the process for these two, but the early signs appear as though they will figure it out just fine.

Chris Kunitz looked to be himself again

This is a very welcome sign to Penguins fans. He worked well on the top line with Crosby and Kessel and didn’t look out of place or too slow. However, the first half of last season wasn’t Kunitz’s problem, it was the second half. He potted 20 points in the first two months of 2014-15 but followed that up with only 20 additional points over the next four months.

This will be something the coaching staff will undoubtedly monitor, as I’m sure Penguins’ fans will as well.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are fun to watch again

When was the last time you’ve seen this much hype and conversation for a preseason game? This team is loaded with depth and talent. As I wrote the other day, enjoy yourself this season as a Pens fan.

The next preseason game is Thursday in Detroit against the Red Wings, and trust me I am looking forward to it just as much as you are.

Next: A Look Ahead to Players Possibly Moving in 2015-16

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