The Mike Johnston era is off to a good start as the Pittsburgh Penguins (1-0-0) used a dominating first period to take the season opener over the Anaheim Ducks (0-1-0) by a final score of 6-4 at Consol Energy Center on Thursday night.
Johnston got his first win as the head coach of the Penguins in a game punctuated by excellent performances across the ice. He is the first coach to be hired in the offseason to win the season opener since “Badger” Bob Johnson (1990).
New Penguin Patric Hornqvist, who joins the team from Nashville as part of the James Neal trade, scored the first goal of the season just 5:16 into the game. Captain Sidney Crosby responded with a goal of his own just two minutes later, but the breakout player of the night was Pascal Dupuis, who made his first appearance in ten months after a serious knee injury last December. Dupuis picked up four points (one goal, three assists) on the night and was universally praised for his effort.
“You’re just really happy to see him do well,” said Crosby to media after the game. “It’s been a long time and he’s worked hard to get back. It’s not easy to come back from injury and be playing game one of the season.”
Johnston also applauded Dupuis’ performance in the postgame press conference: “He’s an energy player. He’s a positive energy guy on the bench and he’s a positive energy guy in the room. It’s nice to see him back.”
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 25 shots, including a potentially game-changing penalty shot in the second period. Although he allowed four goals, all but one of them were on the Ducks’ power play.
Anaheim’s opening goal in the first period by Ryan Kesler quieted the crowd. The Penguins scrambled for a few minutes when they lost the lead in the second period after Anaheim’s Corey Perry scored two quick goals. Perry scored again in the third to earn the hat trick, although it was not enough to topple the energetic Penguins. Crosby scored his second goal just after Perry and Blake Comeau and Brandon Sutter each tallied one goal to give the Penguins the final edge of the night.
The Penguins will face off against the Maple Leafs in Toronto (0-1-0) on Saturday at 7:00 pm.
