LAS VEGAS —Not everyone was thrilled with the Pittsburgh Penguins ' comeback in Carolina on Tuesday, but one rookie is getting much closer to showing his full potential.
Our weekly locker room feature has some exclusives from the room, including some up-close demonstrations. Oh, and Sidney Crosby certainly seems close to a return, just in the nick of time.
Despite getting steamrolled for too much of the game, the Penguins scored a pair of 6v5 extra-attacker goals and even had a scoring chance in the last seconds after they tied the game 4-4. The comeback seemed to erase a lot of the frustration incurred throughout the game, and the dressing room had an upbeat feel, but not everyone felt good about it.
Defenseman Ilya Solovyov has an old-school Russian (he's from Belarus) demeanor and does not humor the situation or waste time with superfluous words or compliments. Thursday morning, he shook off any good tidings stemming from the comeback because it ultimately ended in yet another shootout loss.
"No," he deadpanned.
None?
"No. When you get to 4-4, you expect to win, and we lost," he said.
Solovyov has played in the last few games while Sam Girard recovers from a day-to-day upper-body injury. His brand of heavy defense well suited the game against the Boston Bruins Sunday, but he and D-partner Connor Clifton struggled against the speedy, high-pressure Carolina forecheck.
He was fine against Vegas Thursday, but he and Clifton are still in heavy communication in the defensive zone because both are stay- at -home D-men. Someone has to take players higher in the zone, and they're figuring it out on a case-by-case basis.
There's a reason PHN enjoys the chance to chat with Solovyov without a crowd of reporters. Through his curt, unvarnished responses, he's also an affable sort. He likes to talk.
Thursday, Solovyov intricately detailed his shootout move and why he uses it. It must have been quite a sight as the beefy 6-foot-3 defenseman and I stood by his dressing stall, him acting out his move for me with running commentary. Of course, Solovyov had a couple of off-ramps in the move, too.
If he sees the goalie cheating, he showed me his quick wrist shot.
"You snap it like this," he said as he rolled his left wrist.
Solovyov has only taken one AHL shootout attempt, and that was because the first four players failed to score.
"I go in slowly, at an angle. I drag it over here," Solovyov said, demonstrating what we oldies might call the Forsberg , in which the shooter cuts one way, but stretches his stick and the puck in the other.
But when I looked up his shootout record in the AHL, there was no record of him actually taking one. Maybe it was the preseason. I'm telling you, you'd love to have a beer … or six … with this guy.
The Penguins organization reacted quickly when a pregame interview aired in which Mitch Marner said Sidney Crosby had a Grade 2 MCL sprain. The interview can no longer be found on social media.
We all sort of knew that, right? It's been a poorly kept secret.
More importantly, Crosby seems to be quickly progressing toward a return on this trip. His strides look strong. He's taking sharp turns using his edges and shooting the puck with force.
After the Thursday skate, Crosby spent more time working on small-area drills. Those sharp skating, quick pivot drills are not easy on one's knees.
"No, not yet."
Ville Koivunen has not yet unleashed the irritating, enraging, physical side of his game at the NHL level, yet.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head coach delivered the quote of the year to PHN during the Olympic break when we asked about Koivunen's progress since the Penguins re-assigned him for a second time.
"He's at his best when he's a prick," MacDonald said.
If you missed some of our stories from Wilkes-Barre during the break, we followed up with Koivunen the next day and asked simply if he did enough of that agitating and played with enough sandpaper at the NHL level.
To his credit, he said no. He also detailed why.
"It feels like if you don't do it enough first, then it's like no one cares. What are you gonna say there?" Koivunen said in February. "So first, you have to be better on the ice and stuff, and then maybe you can start doing that more.
"I think everyone gets pissed off because sometimes they can't understand what I say."
We circled back on Thursday after the morning skate at T-Mobile Arena. Are you being a prick yet?
"No, net yet. Maybe soon," he said with his customary smile.
Indeed, Koivunen has played significantly better this go-around. He has two assists in three games, but has also been a noticeable contributor.
"I think (Koivunen and Avery Hayes ) are acclimating well. You've seen some strong games out of (Koivunen)," said coach Dan Muse. "I think he took some things that were going well for him in Wilkes, and he's applying them in these games. Yeah, I think the same thing could be said for Avery.
"So I think, for any young players, just continuing to take those steps, to take from game to game, take the things that go well, and continue to apply them (is important). And there's always going to be things too, moments in a game that you can learn from, and just continuing to take those lessons as well."
Thursday night, Koivunen was even better. He made a few slick passes to create offensive pressure and chances, both at even strength and on the power play. He did not register a point, but was ever so close to a goal and a couple of assists.
If a few of those go in, you might get to see the full depth of his game. It's right there.
The post Penguins Insider: Crosby Health, Shootout Ideas, & Koivunen Waiting to Unleash (+) appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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