New defensemen Jeff Petry, Jan Rutta are already paying dividends for the Penguins

By most measures, the Penguins had a strong offseason, particularly in trying to retool their blue line with the additions of veteran defensemen Jeff Petry and Jan Rutta.

The Penguins drew mostly strong reviews for those transactions, aimed at improving their play around their net.

Perhaps the strongest endorsement came from within the organization, specifically from a position behind those defensemen.

Tristan Jarry.

The Penguins’ goaltender made 26 saves on 28 shots during a 6-2 home win against the Arizona Coyotes. The only two scores he allowed were on opposing power-play opportunities.

Jarry applauded his defensemen as a group in terms of keeping shooting lanes open and limiting scoring opportunities off rebounds.

“The guys did a great job,” Jarry said after the game. “They were keeping guys to the outside, and I was able to see a lot of shots.”

Being stiffer around the net was a goal of the changes the Penguins made on defense. The likes of former defensemen John Marino and Mike Matheson were gifted skaters who could move the puck, but clearing traffic and winning puck battles weren’t necessarily their most celebrated attributes.

Petry and Rutta aren’t going to make anyone forget Ulf Samuelsson or Darius Kasparaitis, two of the most violent defensemen in franchise history, but they know all the tricks of the trade for the modern less-bellicose NHL in terms of trying to keep opposing players away from net with sound positioning instead of a pump handle suplex.

“You can’t just straight up tackle a guy,” Petry said. “You’ve got to get out to him early when he’s coming out of the corner. (If) he wants to try to go through you, make it hard. Or just to get him to go above you or below you, just alter his path to the net. When a guy can come out of the corner and go straight to the net, that’s when they can get there. Once they’re there, it’s hard to straight up move a guy out. And you can’t cross check or anything like that anymore.”

The Penguins dominated the Coyotes in shots, 53 to 28. And that was largely due to them possessing the puck against one of the worst teams in the NHL more than any kind of one-on-one battles for pucks near the Penguins’ cage.

But, on those occasions, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan liked what he saw.

“When we did get in our end zone, I thought we did a good job of competing in our net-front,” Sullivan said. And trying to limit the second-chance opportunities, those rebound opportunities that, for goaltenders, are really difficult saves.”

Still, it’s only the first game of the season, and that area of the Penguins’ game remains a work in progress.

“I don’t think it was bad, but I think we have room for improvement,” Rutta said. “(Saturday, against the Tampa Bay Lightning) is going to be a tougher opponent, for sure. The tests, they’ll definitely come. And I think we can definitely get better. It was a good start, but I definitely think we can get better.”

Notes: Penguins forward Teddy Blueger practiced in Cranberry on Friday wearing a white noncontact jersey. He remains day-to-day with an undisclosed injury that has hobbled him since Sept. 28. … The Penguins will recognize former head equipment manager Dana Heinze before Saturday’s home game against the Lightning. A native of Johnstown, Heinze retired this past summer after a 33-year career as an equipment staffer. Heinze was a member of the Penguins’ Stanley Cup championship teams in 2009, 2016 and 2017. He also won a Stanley Cup title with the Lightning in 2004. … Former Penguins defenseman Ian Cole remains suspended with pay by the Lightning as the NHL investigates allegations of sexual assault by Cole. The team suspended Cole on Sunday after allegations became public Oct. 7 with a posting on Twitter. Cole has not been charged.