The Pittsburgh Penguins will look for a faster start on Friday when they visit the well-rested Columbus Blue Jackets.
A sluggish start led to Pittsburgh’s undoing on Wednesday, as the team attempted to erase a three-goal deficit before dropping a 5-3 decision to the Washington Capitals.
“First half of the game, we weren’t the team we wanted to be,” said forward Bryan Rust, who scored a goal in his season debut. “We gave them way too many opportunities. I don’t think we played hard enough or fast enough.
“But I think the second half of the game was a bit of a different story. I think we played hard. We got in their face. We got on the forecheck. We got to some five-man offense, and I think that’s something to build on. But I think it was a little bit too little, too late.”
Rust, who has scored at least 20 goals in each of his previous seven seasons, returned after missing the Penguins’ first three games due to an upper-body injury sustained in the preseason finale on Sept. 26.
“It was a big goal by ‘Rusty’ there to kind of get it back to even after getting scored on in the first shift,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. “But at the same time, I didn’t like the way we played. The types of chances they were getting. We’ve got to control the momentum of the game.”
Tommy Novak and Nick Robertson also tallied for the 2-2-0 Penguins. However, superstar captain Sidney Crosby registered a minus-4 rating in the team’s second loss in as many games.
The Blue Jackets have been idle since last Saturday, when they dropped a 4-1 decision to the Utah Mammoth.
Columbus allowed the first goal for the second consecutive contest and trailed 2-0 before Kent Johnson scored on a breakaway early in the second period. Matthew Knies assisted on Johnson’s goal after collecting two goals and an assist in Columbus’ 6-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 1.
“Obviously, we haven’t played our best in these first two games,” alternate captain Zach Werenski said, per the Columbus Dispatch. “So we’re (1-1-0). There’s 82 games left, so it’s not time to sound the alarms or anything, but we’ve definitely got a lot better in here, and I think we know that.”
Jet Greaves started in net for the club’s first two games.
Fellow goaltender Cam Talbot is expected to make his Blue Jackets debut either Friday versus Pittsburgh or Saturday at the St. Louis Blues. When that happens, the 39-year-old Talbot will tie Sean Burke as the only goalies in NHL history to play for nine franchises.
“I wouldn’t move again if something were to happen here, where I could stay put, and that’s why I’m approaching it like, ‘This is it,'” Talbot said, per the Columbus Dispatch. “We’ll see. We’ll revisit that later, but I know that my wife will kill me if she has to move again.”