Fleury steps in as star
it.”
No problem there, the same as Rust, Kessel and Bonino being ready for the postseason. Perhaps it’s etched into their contracts, the extra responsibility they assume and the other level they find this time of year.
Kessel snapped a shot past a helpless Sergei Bobrovsky — a likely Vezina Trophy finalist, mind you — and kicked another to Rust, proving to be an unlikely hero in two sports.
“The puck was kind of at my feet,” Kessel explained. “I saw Rusty coming in and tried to get it in the area. … It was kind of lucky.”
Most encouraging for the Penguins as this series progresses could be the 10 shots Kessel attempted and the seven he put on goal, both team-highs.
Sullivan has urged Kessel to shoot more. It finally appears he is listening. If Kessel can conjure the 10 goals, 22 points he produced last postseason, look out.
“We know we have a team that can score on any line,” Bonino said. “When we do that, we’re hard to beat.”
Bonino stretched the Penguins lead to 3-0 at 16:25 of the second with a dirty goal in front of Bobrovsky, who entered this one 3-5-1 in his past nine games in Pittsburgh with a 3.31 goalsagainst average and a .902 save percentage.
That the Penguins, who struggled early, took things over the middle period should not come as a surprise. They scored an NHL high 106 goals in the 20 last season and led the league again with 102 in 2016-17.
Matt Calvert took advantage of a failed clear and converted from the slot at 12:41 of the third, but the Penguins turned in a mostly sound defensive effort, going two for two on the penalty kill, blocking 22 shots and keeping Fleury’s crease clear.
Possessing the puck with any sort of regularity was an issue for the Penguins early. The Blue Jackets outshot the Penguins, 16-3, in the first period, although Sullivan sensed a momentum change with about three minutes to go.
“The last three minutes, we got some real commitment to playing defense,” Sullivan said. “Guys were blocking shots. I thought we did a really good job in our end zone as far as making it difficult for them to get any sort of quality chances.”
In the meantime, it was Fleury who held the fort. A stop on Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski from point-blank range at 7:23, then using his catching glove to snare a Cam Atkinson attempt at 11:55.
Players insisted there was no fidgeting in the dressing room after they found out Murray was injured. They simply turned to the franchise’s longest-tenured player, easily its most loved and started filming an incredible sequel.
“What can you say about his character and his compete level, just to step in and be as good as he was, especially in that first period?” Sullivan wondered aloud about Fleury. “We needed him.”