Preseason Recap: Penguins 5, Senators 2

The Ottawa Senators went to Sudbury to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in this year's Kraft Hockeyville game because apparently Elliot Lake isn't big enough to host a preseason game. It was overall a forgettable game, in which the Sens started strong then disappeared as the game went on. Nick Cousins and Tim Stützle scored for the Sens, while Evgeni Malkin had a hat-trick and Sidney Crosby had a brace for the Pens. Anton Forsberg played the full game and allowed 4 goals on 18 shots for a .778 save percentage.

My thoughts, for better or for worse:

• Nick Cousins opened the scoring by picking his spot perfectly. I think Cousins has the inside track to play on Travis Green's Line 3, especially if Josh Norris isn't good to go to start the year.

• The top line (Giroux, Stützle, Tkachuk) looked like they were playing pond hockey, in that they were trying for fun offensive plays, skating fast, making good passes, but not throwing the body. Their spots are secure, so I'm fine with them not risking injury. And Jimmy Stü showed he still has hands as soft as butter:

• Brady's chirp game is already in mid-season form though. Nice to see that fatherhood hasn't quietened him at all.
• It's hard to get used to the new jersey numbers. I'd see 21 and 57 out there and think it was Joseph and Pinto before realizing that it was actually Cousins and Perron.
• Thomas Chabot is running the offensive zone like in the past, looking for the beautiful pass. It's nice to see both his vision and his confidence returning.
• Jake Sanderson tipped the first Malkin goal into his own net. It looked like he just got his angle wrong on his stick. I'm not worried, because it's preseason and I think he's also struggling with trying out different D partners all the time. Here's hoping Artem Zub is ready to start the season.
• Speaking of right-handed defencemen, Jacob Bernard-Docker just doesn't look like he's figured out his positioning and timing better over the summer. If Zub's hurt, we're looking at him or Hamonic in the top four, in which case I'd hope they give Carter Yakemchuk an early-season audition. I don't want to overreact to one preseason game, but it's beginning to look like a pattern with JBD.
• Also, if Zub's hurt, that PK is going to look ugly to start the season.
• Jan Jenik and Zack Ostapchuk are clearly fighting to stay up with the big club. Jenik had the bigger offensive numbers tonight (2 shots vs. 0), but I think Ostapchuk's hustle and physicality give him the inside track for a primarily checking role. That being said, Jenik going toe to toe with Boko Imama might up his chances. Slashing Crosby late in the game and getting a misconduct might push it the other way though.
• It's been a weird preseason for injuries, and we almost got an unfair share in this game. First, Brady Tkachuk left a couple times clutching his shoulder to start the third period, but he did finish the game. Then Kevin Hayes flipped a dump-in right into Nick Jensen's face, who left the game but seems to be OK because nobody's saying he still needs to be evaluated. The Sens will need to be healthy this year to be a playoff team, so I'm glad everyone escape unscathed.
• Anton Forsberg just wasn't good enough tonight. Another reason we're all thankful that Linus Ullmark was acquired over the offseason.

The Sens' next preseason game is October 1 against the Habs. We'll find out today if anyone gets cut from camp before then.