Penguins Douse Flames in Saad's Return
2018-12-23CALGARY, AB - The Penguins (10-4-1) defeated the Flames (3-8-3) in a shootout by a score of 4-3. It was a night that Brandon Saad wanted to get through with no interruptions or hold ups.
"Yeah, I definitely enjoyed my limited time here, there's a good group of guys for sure. But at the end of the day it didn't work out, and now I'm happy to be in my hometown and playing for the Penguins."
Saad, who scored his sixth goal (first with Pittsburgh) of the season in the 4-3 shootout win, had his best game as a Penguin. He fired seven shots on goal and finally broke through after picking up two assists in his first three games with Pittsburgh.
"I thought Brandon was our best player, he's really jelled with Stast and gotten him going which we're gonna need to be a good team deep in the season." said Coach Julien
Brian Gibbons would get the Penguins on the board with his sixth goal of the season and has tied his single season career high point total (12 points in 15 games), compared to 12 in 80 games with Winnipeg in 2015-16.
"I think playing in Wilkes-Barre with those guys last year really helped me with confidence and believing in myself and I'm happy to be helping the team win, It 's definitely a plus to be playing with Benny and Bo on a nightly basis. Those guys are such world class players and they've helped me out along the way, which I'm forever grateful for."
"Gibby's been great for us all year," said Jamie Benn, who assisted on both Saad and Gibbon's goals, "If he's gonna keep burying em we're gonna keep feeding him. He's been the engine to get us going many times this season, and it's great to see."
Penguins GM also announced that the team acquired Milan Lucic from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a 3rd round pick in 2019.
"We think Milan brings a physical presence to our team, as well as a scoring touch that's been locked away this year, but we think he's going to be big for us coming soon," GM Gurtowski was quoted as saying this morning "We also want to see him challenge our bottom six forwards to produce and give 100% on a nightly basis. Being a veteran player, we feel he can be a major leader for our younger forwards."
The Penguins will meet the Canucks (4-6-2) tomorrow night and try to extend their winning streak to four games.