The Penguins had a lot of young guys on the ice last night as they dropped a preseason road game to Detroit, 4-2. Casey DeSmith played the whole game in goal, stopping 33 of 36 shots.
Detroit took a 2-0 lead on goals scored in the first period and early in the second. The Penguins’ Drew O’Connor scored his third goal of the preseason, a power play goal off a pass from young prospect Valtteri Puustinen, in the middle of the second period, and Dominick Simon tied the game at 2 with a breakaway backhand goal at 4:02 of the third. But the Red Wings’ Joe Veleno scored at the 15:28 mark of the third period, and they added an empty net goal to set the final.
Coach Mike Sullivan says he’s enjoyed watching his young prospects like 2018 first round draft choice Sam Poulin, Filip Hallander, O’Connor, and Puustinen perform in the preseason.
Puustinen, a Finn who was drafted in the seventh round by the Penguins in 2019, has drawn comparisons to former Penguin Phil Kessell for his scoring touch and puck skills. Sullivan says he’s a real prospect.
The Penguins have one more exhibition game, at Columbus tomorrow night, before they open the season at Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
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