Brassard’s emergence benefits third line
Because of Sidney Crosby’s remarkable goahead goal in the third period, Derick Brassard’s score in the first period Sunday afternoon was not the most impressive play of the Penguins’ 5-4 overtime win against the Flyers.
But it was still pretty spectacular.
Midway through the first period, Conor Sheary flipped a puck over the entire Philadelphia defense corps into the offensive zone, allowing Brassard to chase it down and get a breakaway on Flyers goalie Alex Lyon, which he converted.
“It was pretty creative,” Mike Sullivan said. “I think it was the easiest lane, up over everything. He just laid the puck into space and allowed him to get in a foot race. It was really good recognition by Conor.”
The goal extended Brassard’s point streak to six games, and continued his strong run of play alongside Sheary and Phil Kessel on the Penguins’ third line.
“Those couple of games, those shifts, those reps, I think helps every day,” Brassard said. “That was a great play by him. With Conor’s speed, I think he’s hunting a lot of pucks, he’s really hard on the forecheck and we know the talent of Phil with the puck. It’s going well right now.”
Sheary, too, has points in three of his last four games to put a positive finish on a mostly frustrating offensive season for him.
“I think Conor is really explosive out there,” Brassard said. “He creates a lot of turnovers. It’s fun to watch. When you’re on the ice and you see him flying like that, you just want to keep up with him.”
Brassard said the toughest part of his adjustment in coming to the Penguins from Ottawa — getting used to the speed with which the Penguins play — is mostly in the past. Now, he can focus on the finer details and deepen the chemistry with his new linemates.
“I think the No. 1 thing is I feel like my legs are in there and I feel like I can play with that pace,” he said. “The first couple of games, when there is emotion and nerves involved, I think it can slow down a little bit, but now I feel good. I feel like I’m playing with more pace in my game. Just playing with good players, trying to make plays. It’s going well.”
Penalty kill troubles
The Penguins weren’t able to completely solve their issues on the penalty kill against the Flyers, giving up a power-play goal to Jordan Weal at 17:10 of the second period Sunday.
They have now allowed nine power-play goals in their last eight games.
Sullivan thinks part of the issue is not getting in shooting lanes enough, which has also been a problem at even strength.
“That’s a mindset,” he said. “In my opinion, that’s simply a mindset. It’s a willingness to play the game hard. It’s a thankless job, but it’s an important job. I think it’s happening both 5-on-5, and it’s also happening on the penalty kill. That’s one of the reasons why it’s been a struggle as of late.”
How sweep it is
The win Sunday gave the Penguins a season sweep of their cross-state rivals. They outscored the Flyers 20-11 over the course of their four meetings this season.
“Any time you win a rivalry game — especially in that fashion where they battled back to tie the game and we just kind of kept going, ended up winning — that just shows the character in our room,” Bryan Rust said. “These ones are a little bit nicer.”
The two teams may not be done playing this year, though. There’s a decent chance the Penguins and Flyers could meet in the first round of the playoffs a few weeks from now.
In the Penguins’ dressing room there wasn’t a whole lot of confidence that these four regular-season wins would ensure postseason success.
“Doesn’t mean anything to me,” Rust said. “Just means that if we do play them, they’re going to be even hungrier.”