PENGUINS

Egor Chinakhov's first game as a Penguin was a weird one.

Only about 40 minutes of the 4-3 overtime win over the Red Wings on Thursday was spent at five-on-five, between just shy of 14 minutes spent on the penalty-kill, four minutes on the power-play and some brief four-on-four time. The number of penalties meant that even when it was five-on-five, the lines were a jumble.

As a result, Chinakhov logged only 11:06, the third-lowest ice time on the team, a workload that included 10:03 at five-on-five and 1:03 with the second power-play unit.

Considering the circumstances -- the weird flow of the game, only having one morning skate with the group prior to playing -- it was a pretty good debut. His three hits tied for the team lead, he had a blocked shot, and he had one shot on goal on three attempts.

Chinakhov's greatest asset is really that shot and quick release, and that was clear on his attempts here. He showed flashes of speed on a number of occasions.

The Penguins were outshot 6-1 with Chinakhov on the ice at five-on-five and outscored 1-0, but again, given the circumstances of the game and the flashes of skill he showed, it all adds up to a pretty positive first showing.

"As the game got going, he really did start to show himself," Dan Muse said. "You saw the speed, you saw the skill. He had some really good bursts there. I thought he was working away from the puck too, working back, working to defend. So I thought it was a good first game."