The Penguins Keep Beating Bad Teams, but At Least the Kids Look Good

Late Wednesday evening, the Penguins concluded their California road trip. They went 2-1 on the trip when they bested San Jose in a shootout. Their other win came against LA. So, it seems the Penguins are still good enough to beat the bad teams in the league. Celebrini, Smith, and Stenberg aside, San Jose is still a bad hockey team.

Beating these teams really only hurts the Penguins in the long run, but it is nice to get a couple of wins every once in a while.

What’s more important is how they won.

Sergei Murashov was absolutely outstanding last night. He seems to have shaken off his poor Western trip because he’s been damn good his past two starts. The Penguins were quite terrible for the first half of the second period, but Murashov refused to falter.

Even after surrendering two goals in the back half of the third, he stood tall during a penalty kill in overtime and was unbeatable in the shootout.

Besides the young netminder, Ben Kindel and Egor Chinakhov were the two best forwards for Pittsburgh last night. While Sid and Geno’s line looked dangerous, it was the young gun line that had that extra gear. Kindel scored on a power play, and Chinny was consistently dangerous in the offensive zone all night.

Whether the Penguins go on a run or not, seeing performances like the kids put on last night is all that matters. They need all these kids to take steps and become focal points for the next era.

Last night was a look into the future just as much as it was a win in the present.

Kindel might be the team’s future 1C and captain, Chinakhov might be their most potent goal scorer, and Murashov should eventually be the unheralded starter.

Those three are taking steps, and that’s all we really need to see for the remainder of this season.