Dan Muse said after the Penguins' 3-0 shutout of the Sharks tonight here at SAP Center that he thinks Ben Kindel and Harrison Brunicke are "starting to learn now that every night is going to look a little bit different."
"Some of them, it's going to be heavier, and the games are going to be more kind of that feel of playing in the trenches," Muse explained. "And then, others are going to feel like more of a track meet."
Muse said that they anticipated this game being more like a track meet -- faster-paced, with a lot of end-to-end action as teams trade chances -- and it was. And both Kindel and Brunicke came up with big defensive plays to prevent those chances.
Kindel's moment came in the second period, after Sidney Crosby's opening goal off a deflection gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Will Smith skated the puck in and faked like he was about to shoot, drawing Tristan Jarry over to the right. At the same time, Michael Misa was flying up the center of the ice, making a beeline to the left of Jarry. Smith attempted a no-look pass over to Misa and, had it connected, Misa would have just had to one-time it into the open net. But it was Kindel right there ready to break up the play, later clearing it right out of the Penguins' end:
"We were all kinds of tired, and it was just kind of a breakdown," Kindel said. "They got an odd-man rush, and I just tried to get back and just take my guy. And luckily, it stayed out."
Kindel was great with the puck, too -- he led the Penguins in shot attempts (eight) and tied for the lead in shots (five). He became the franchise's first 18-year-old with at least five shots in a game since Jordan Staal in 2007.
Brunicke had a couple moments of his own.
First was early in the third period, when the Penguins were still holding onto that one-goal lead. William Eklund was skating on a partial breakaway with Brunicke trailing. Brunicke used his long reach to poke at Eklund's stick just as Eklund was looking to take a shot, forcing the shot wide:
After Anthony Mantha doubled the Penguins' lead and the Sharks started to really push, Brunicke came up big again with a huge block:
"I just saw the guy had some space in the middle," Brunicke recalled. "I got out of my lane and it hit me right in the elbow."
Brunicke went on the bench briefly after that block and was flexing out his right elbow, but quickly returned to the game. He confirmed after that he "feels fine" (in between singing the team's win song, "Freed from Desire," to himself as he sat in his locker stall).
Oftentimes when young players are breaking into the NHL, it's the pace and the defensive responsibilities that can be the biggest adjustments coming from junior. But throughout this entire start of the season, Kindel and Brunicke have handled themselves just fine. Their young legs seemed to benefit them in a back-and-forth game like this, and they both have the awareness away from the puck to play responsibly in this league.
This was the fifth game of the season for Kindel and Brunicke, after each sat a game on this trip as part of the long-term development plan for either. Their entry-level contracts would kick in once they take the ice for a 10th game. With every game they play, they show why they deserve to stay beyond nine games.
THE ASYLUM
Kindel, Brunicke come up big in 'track meet'
Dan Muse said after the Penguins' 3-0 shutout of the Sharks tonight here at SAP Center that he thinks Ben Kindel and Harrison Brunicke are "starting to learn now that every night is going to look a little bit different."
"Some of them, it's going to be heavier, and the games are going to be more kind of that feel of playing in the trenches," Muse explained. "And then, others are going to feel like more of a track meet."
Muse said that they anticipated this game being more like a track meet -- faster-paced, with a lot of end-to-end action as teams trade chances -- and it was. And both Kindel and Brunicke came up with big defensive plays to prevent those chances.
Kindel's moment came in the second period, after Sidney Crosby's opening goal off a deflection gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Will Smith skated the puck in and faked like he was about to shoot, drawing Tristan Jarry over to the right. At the same time, Michael Misa was flying up the center of the ice, making a beeline to the left of Jarry. Smith attempted a no-look pass over to Misa and, had it connected, Misa would have just had to one-time it into the open net. But it was Kindel right there ready to break up the play, later clearing it right out of the Penguins' end:
"We were all kinds of tired, and it was just kind of a breakdown," Kindel said. "They got an odd-man rush, and I just tried to get back and just take my guy. And luckily, it stayed out."
Kindel was great with the puck, too -- he led the Penguins in shot attempts (eight) and tied for the lead in shots (five). He became the franchise's first 18-year-old with at least five shots in a game since Jordan Staal in 2007.
Brunicke had a couple moments of his own.
First was early in the third period, when the Penguins were still holding onto that one-goal lead. William Eklund was skating on a partial breakaway with Brunicke trailing. Brunicke used his long reach to poke at Eklund's stick just as Eklund was looking to take a shot, forcing the shot wide:
After Anthony Mantha doubled the Penguins' lead and the Sharks started to really push, Brunicke came up big again with a huge block:
"I just saw the guy had some space in the middle," Brunicke recalled. "I got out of my lane and it hit me right in the elbow."
Brunicke went on the bench briefly after that block and was flexing out his right elbow, but quickly returned to the game. He confirmed after that he "feels fine" (in between singing the team's win song, "Freed from Desire," to himself as he sat in his locker stall).
Oftentimes when young players are breaking into the NHL, it's the pace and the defensive responsibilities that can be the biggest adjustments coming from junior. But throughout this entire start of the season, Kindel and Brunicke have handled themselves just fine. Their young legs seemed to benefit them in a back-and-forth game like this, and they both have the awareness away from the puck to play responsibly in this league.
This was the fifth game of the season for Kindel and Brunicke, after each sat a game on this trip as part of the long-term development plan for either. Their entry-level contracts would kick in once they take the ice for a 10th game. With every game they play, they show why they deserve to stay beyond nine games.
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