The preseason battle for the last roster spot or two is heating up and it doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down anytime soon! Hunter and Patrick discuss how Jesse Puljujjarvi, Valtteri Puustinen, and Cody Glass are all showing that they belong on the opening night roster, but who is going to win out? Will this go all the way until the end? After that, they discuss some of the other standout performances from this game, including Drew O’Connor, Lars Eller, and Noel Acciari. They dive into how DOC has taken the top six job and run with it during the preseason while giving Eller and Acciari their flowers for how they played. Finally, they get you set for the Penguins’ third preseason game in three days on Tuesday as they’ll play the Red Wings once again.
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7 Comments
Doc is damn good, he looks more mature and poised. Pusti is so good when he has the puck but honestly i don't think he touches the puck enough. I also noticed him defer to a couple defensemen instead of firing the puck himself. Pusti let that rubber fly!!!! I just don't know if he does enough with out the puck like jesse P. and glass do. I don't know how these cards will fall. Shall be interesting.
I personally feel that last night's game was a standout night for Puljujarvi especially, though Puustinen definitely looked good as well. They were playing against 95% of the Red Wings NHL roster, with a predominantly AHL and bottom-6 NHLer roster, to have those performances has to count for a little bit more, I'd say. Sure, maybe Detroit wasn't trying their hardest, cuz of it being preseason, but that was still a MUCH more stacked roster than Pittsburgh iced and Puljujarvi particularly, looked stellar.
Not to say that the Hockeyville game wasn't a statement game for Glass, he looked great and his underlying numbers have been more than solid throughout preseason.
I do think Puljujarvi has a bit of an edge over Glass and Puustinen, with the points he has put up so far in 2 preseason games, against mostly NHL rosters, plus his overall play. Especially with how he has gone from a green jersey to start camp and then going all the way up to being the designated 3RW to start drills, where they have Glass rotating in and out and Puustinen not even practicing with the NHL guys at all.
I think it goes: Puljujarvi > Glass > Puustinen (but not by a lot). I do not envy Sullivan and Dubas having to make these roster decisions coming up here very soon.
McGroarty's positioning is impeccable, he always seems to generally be in the right place, at the right time and that isn't really something you can easily teach. He has very high hockey IQ and has been getting multiple decent scoring chances each game he plays. I also think his skating issues have been overblown, his skating looked fine last night, it's his tendency to glide at times when he should keep his feet moving, Kevin Hayes does this as well. McGroarty's underlying numbers have been very strong, at 5v5, through 3 preseason games, without being placed with the big dogs:
– Out-scoring opponents 4-2
– 72% of expected goals
– 67% of scoring chances
– 78% of high-danger chances
– Ranked 6th in xGF%, out of 143 forwards in preseason (that have a minimum of 30 minutes of ice time)
He is definitely standing out and I think he would absolutely have a spot on opening night, if it wasn't for his exemption from waivers, that I think will see him start in WBS.
So happy to have y’all back 5 episodes/week!
Can we talk about those good saves Blomqvist was making?! He made some stops if he doesn't make them, they easily swing the momentum back to Detroit. I like him so far, especially if they need to start him a game or 2 for injured Ned. I do hope Ned is ok though too.
Man, I'd love to see Boko in the lineup, but sadly, there is no room for him.
I want puliarvi pustinen does not shoot the puck. Puliarvi has size and strength forget pustinen
What about a JP, Glass and VP line and see if they gel I know they are all right shots but wouldn't that be a crazy line Id try it and see what happens. I would also put Magroarty on the 1st line just to see how he handles it see if he understands how Sid and Rust work together now is the time to experiment