After getting a 6-4 victory over Minnesota to kick off their three-game road trip, the Penguins got another two points on Saturday in Winnipeg, defeating the Jets 3-0.
Jason Zucker broke the scoreless tie just 53 seconds into the third period, while Bryan Rust got an empty-netter with 1:34 remaining (after Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck misplayed a puck right to Sidney Crosby, who set up the winger). Jake Guentzel iced the win with four seconds left.
There was so much to like about Pittsburgh's textbook road win, but Jarry's play was perhaps the best part. He made 32 saves to earn his first shutout of the season, and second win in a row, after starting just one of the previous four while going through some struggles.
"I think it was just another step in the right direction (in terms of) just getting better every game and being able to be a better version of myself every game," the Penguins netminder said.
Here's what Sullivan had to say after the game, before the Penguins headed to Chicago to face the Blackhawks on Sunday night, which will be Evgeni Malkin's 1,000th game in the NHL.
On what he liked about Tristan's game tonight: "Everything. I just thought he was tracking the puck. He was in control, he was big, and I thought he made good decisions with his exchanges with our defensemen. I liked everything about his game."
On if things are starting to trend in the right direction for this group: "I think so. I think we're making progress. This was one of our more conscientious games, I think. Playing a one-goal hockey game is a really good experience for us to go through. Because you have to be diligent with the puck, and you just have to make sure you have an element of patience associated with your game, so you don't force something that's not there. I thought in third period, our guys did a really good job in that regard."
On if this was a classic case of defending first, and the offense coming from that: "Yeah, I think so. I mean, I'm just a firm believer that the route to consistent play is through defense. When you take care of the puck and you make good decisions; and when you don't have the puck, you play within structure and you trust one another; then I think you give yourself the best chance to win. I know this team is a talented group. We're capable of scoring goals. I think we'll score goals. Sometimes you score goals through your defense. You can create a lot of offense through your defense. But we've got to continue to become a team that can create offense different ways, whether it's off the rush or off the power play or in-zone or just creating it off the defense. I think that's just an important element of being a good team."
On if it makes his job easier when they get rewarded for playing simple and doing the right things, like they did tonight: "Well, I just think it reinforces the message, for sure. When you play the game a certain way, you give yourself a better chance to win. We've talked a lot about not giving teams easy offense. I didn't think we gave them easy offense tonight. I thought we made them work for it. They got some chances. They're a good hockey team, they're talented. But I thought we made them work for it. We had numbers back a lot. And when we did break down, Tristan was there to make some timely saves for us."
Sully Says: This Was One Of Our More Conscientious Games - NHL.com
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