For the third time in the last five games, rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist will start in net for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Coach Mike Sullivan revealed his starting netminder following the club’s morning skate in Cranberry on Friday, with the Carolina Hurricanes visiting PPG Paints Arena.
“He’s gotten progressively better with every start that he’s gotten,” Sullivan said. “He’s obviously a quality goaltender and he’s playing extremely well right now.”
Blomqvist, who has made two starts for the Penguins early in the year heading into Friday, earned high marks for his performance Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres.
Entering the game in relief after Tristan Jarry allowed three goals on his first five shots faced, Blomqvist stabilized things in net and helped the Penguins rally to a 6-5 overtime win that featured Evgeni Malkin’s 500th NHL goal and Sidney Crosby’s 1,600th point.
On the year, the 22-year-old Blomqvist is 2-1 with a 2.86 goals against average and .913 save percentage.
Jarry, by comparison, has struggled to begin the year.
He let in six goals in the Penguins’ season-opening shutout to the New York Rangers and to date, is 1-1 with a 5.47 GAA and .836 save percentage.
Notes:
The Penguins utilized the following lines, defensive pairings and power-play groups during Friday’s morning skate:
72 Anthony Beauvillier – 87 Sidney Crosby – 17 Bryan Rust
8 Michael Bunting – 71 Evgeni Malkin – 67 Rickard Rakell
10 Drew O’Connor – 20 Lars Eller – 18 Jesse Puljujarvi
13 Kevin Hayes – 19 Cody Glass – 55 Noel Acciari
24 Matt Grzelcyk – 58 Kris Letang
28 Marcus Pettersson – 65 Erik Karlsson
27 Ryan Graves – 3 Jack St. Ivany
First power-play unit: Crosby, Malkin, Rust, Letang and Karlsson.
Second power-play unit: Bunting, Rakell, Hayes, Grzelcyk, Puljujarvi/Eller rotating.
• Forward Valtteri Puustinen and blueliner Ryan Shea skated as a fourth reserve defensive pairing Friday and can be expected to be healthy scratches vs. the Hurricanes.
• Carolina is expected to start Frederik Andersen in net. So far, he is 1-0 with a 2.06 GAA and .905 save percentage.
• Both forward Rutger McGroarty and goalie Alex Nedeljkovic practiced with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Thursday. McGroarty was assigned to the AHL on Wednesday while the Penguins sent Nedeljkovic to their affiliate Thursday for conditioning purposes. The Penguins face the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at home Friday.
