Alex Nedeljkovic’s debut offers Penguins hope for improved goalie depth

PITTSBURGH — Early during training camp, Evgeni Malkin mentioned, without being asked, how all his Pittsburgh Penguins needed last season was one more win.

“We make playoffs,” he said. “One more win.”

He paused, shrugged his shoulders, and repeated those three words: “One more win.”

“Games, like, in October matter same as March,” Malkin said. “We can’t, like, wait until late season. Win games early, it’s important. We need to learn this.”

There is a lot of hockey remaining. Heck, there are six more games this month.

Still, after their inspired 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday night, it was hard not to think long and hard about Malkin’s unsolicited thoughts from about a month ago.

This was one of those victories that seemed to elude the Penguins last season. Though Malkin, along with captain Sidney Crosby, put the Flames under their thumbs similar to the way they did the Capitals the previous night in Washington, it was a backup goalie who probably provided the best reason yet to think some things are different in Pittsburgh.

One thing that might be: Quality depth at the sport’s most important position.

Alex Nedeljkovic, one of general manager Kyle Dubas’ many offseason acquisitions, was everything a coach would want of a goalie on the second night of back-to-back games. Steady in the blue paint, active with his stick, in control of rebounds and making all the saves an NHL goalie should — the so-called easy ones.

At five-on-five, Nedeljkovic stopped all 23 mid- and low-danger shots, as tracked by Natural Stat Trick. That might not seem like much, but a goalie making the expected saves is more than good enough for a club that can score as can these Penguins.

Keeping it in the goalie family 🥺 pic.twitter.com/Rfdf76lYWt

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 15, 2023

And, sheesh, did these Penguins score like days of old in the third period. Bryan Rust, Reilly Smith and Jake Guentzel marked within the opening six minutes to completely transform the game, turning a one-goal deficit into a two-goal advantage. Malkin and Rust added late-regulation goals to make a laugher out of what had been a tight contest through 40 minutes.

But had Nedeljkovic not been up to his modest task over the first couple of periods, the Penguins might have ended their opening week with only a couple of points — and that wouldn’t have sat well with anybody in Pittsburgh.

In a flat-capped league, every club has at least one weakness, if not several. Witness the Penguins of last season.

Still, for all of their issues then, their limited resources behind Tristan Jarry probably didn’t garner enough attention. The Penguins went 15-16-4 in games Jarry didn’t start — a .486 points percentage that was largely due to below-the-line performances in net, mostly by Casey DeSmith.

In the 35 games that Jarry didn’t open in the blue-painted crease last season, Penguins goalies recorded a .903 save percentage and a 3.28 goals-against average. Given those numbers, it’s remarkable the Penguins only lost 20 of those games. They could have done a lot worse.

They’ll need to do a lot better when Jarry doesn’t start this season. While projecting anything based on Nedeljkovic’s lone start this season is to court potential ridicule, it at least looks like the Penguins have an actual viable option at goaltender if their No. 1 can’t play, or doesn’t play well.

Or look at it another way.

In Nedeljkovic, the Penguins might have found a goalie good enough to afford coach Mike Sullivan the luxury of limiting Jarry — bothered all of last season by a wonky back — to somewhere between 50 and 55 starts. If it goes that way, Jarry should be tested just enough but also rested for a possible playoff run.

Of course, the Penguins would need to reach the playoffs first. Again, there’s a lot of hockey for them to play.

If Nedeljkovic is as good in most of his starts as he was Saturday night, the postseason feels more like a probability than a possibility.

Observations

No. 1: Malkin set up a goal and scored another to give him six points over the past two games. That matches the best three-game start to his storied career, but he’s actually been better than his statistics suggest.

His passing is next-level. His decisions, specifically without the puck, are confident and correct. He’s noticeable defensively. He’s quickly finding chemistry with Smith, who is increasingly looking as though his attributes mesh ideally with this version of Malkin — a playmaker much more than a sniper 18 seasons into his career.

Nobody is expecting a pace of two points per game for Malkin. Not at 37 years old. He will experience stretches when goals and points are elusive.

Yet if he keeps attacking north-to-south and backchecking as he has the past couple of games, Malkin might just end up establishing himself as the sort of player Crosby long ago became: complete.

No. 2: Rust’s goal 18 seconds into the third period changed the complexion of this game. He scored after expertly receiving a puck that ricocheted off the end boards zone, then stuffing it behind the Flames’ Jacob Markstrom.

That puck was there for Rust to take after Kris Letang fired it from high in the offensive zone and through traffic. Rust said he wasn’t sure if making use of PPG Paints Arena’s bouncy end boards was Letang’s intention. He guessed Letang was merely trying to place the puck into a scoring area, but …

“He knows the boards here better than anybody,” Rust said. “So, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what he was thinking.”

IN RUST WE TRUST! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Wws8c0N6em

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 15, 2023

No. 3: Letang was excellent against the Flames, and not just because of his two assists. He seemed stronger as the game went on, and he found the sweet spot between driving offense and defending.

It’s probably a coincidence that Letang had his best game the night after Erik Karlsson put on a tour de force in Washington. Or maybe not?

Letang is a proud, fierce competitor. He has welcomed Karlsson with open arms, even ceding his spot on the top power-play unit to Karlsson — no surprise to those who best know Letang. He prizes winning above all.

That said, he’s been the Penguins’ top defenseman for most of his 18 seasons. That is one role he isn’t eager to hand over to Karlsson. If there is a competition for that spot, it will only serve to make the Penguins more dangerous.

No. 4: If you’re watching the Penguins and thinking they’re working really hard for 60 minutes, you’re not alone in that assessment. Especially against the Flames, their mistakes were masked by consistent effort and tenacity. That’s an encouraging sign.

No. 5: Malkin or Crosby had played a part in each of the Penguins’ goals through three games before Rust’s empty-net tally Saturday night. That’s nothing new.

Neither is the lack of scoring from the Penguins’ bottom-six forwards. That can’t continue.

(Photo of Alex Nedeljkovic deflecting the puck against Calgary: Jason Mowry / Getty Images)