There is no mistaking the last two games with the Four Nations tournament. Penguins hockey is back and all it encapsulates. The Penguins played well enough to win putting up xGF% of 61.95 against the Capitals and then 68.86% against the Rangers. As has been the case this season the goaltending just doesn’t have a nine in front of it enough games.
Alex Nedeljkovic had a .643 save percentage in his start against Washington while Joel Blomqvist fared not a lot better against the Rangers the next day putting up a .733 of his own. The Rangers game was especially tough because the Penguins outshot the struggling Rangers 39-16.
In two games this weekend Penguins goalies only faced 47 shots on goal, 19 high-danger chances and 5.37 expected goals (all situations).
They allowed 12 goals.
— Adam Gretz (@adamgretz.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 6:29 PM
The issue with Blomqvist is that if you send him back to the AHL there aren’t really enough starts to go around. It would effectively force the team to send their other prospect goaltender, Sergei Murashov, back to the ECHL. This is one of the issues of needing to send Tristan Jarry down to the AHL. Murashov has a save percentage of .934 in six AHL games and has gone 6-0. He is deserving of getting regular AHL action. For this reason, I don’t have a problem with Joel Blomqvist staying in the NHL. The season doesn’t matter at this point. He might have some poor outings, but holistically they need to look out for everyone and that includes Murashov.
The Penguins are currently 28th overall in save percentage this season at .886
One of the more surprising things about the weekend was the presence of Sidney Crosby. I really thought he was going to take some time off after his stint with Canada. Sid returned with a goal and an assist in both games and sits at 60 points in 57 games. The magic number for Crosby is 80 points. He’s missed two games so far this season. Getting to 80 points guarantees his point per game season.
Evgeni Malkin also returned to the lineup and put up three points in the two games. Including a two point effort against the Rangers where he scored his first goal since January 20th. I thought Malkin looked good for a guy who hadn’t had any game action in nearly a month. He had an xGF% of 76.06 against the Capitals and 69.31 against the Rangers. Really solid numbers and it is good to see Geno back on the ice.
Up next for the Penguins is a home and home against the rival Flyers on Tuesday and Thursday.
Thanks for reading!
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