Ice hockey | Jesse Puljujärvi surprised his coach in the NHL

Jesse Puljujärvi, 26, is playing himself into the Pittsburgh Penguins’ NHL lineup when the season begins.

The Finnish jässikka cooled down on the night between Thursday and Friday against Columbus in the Penguins’ penultimate practice match in the first division by Kevin Hayes and by Rutger McGoarty alongside.

In the official NHL match, Puljujärvi’s chain could rather be the Penguins’ triple or quadruple chain, because Pittsbugh’s stars played the game of the night.

Puljujärvi has collected praise during the training camp. He scored a hat-trick in the first match of the season and has played strongly ever since.

“Jesse has been one of the best surprises for me in training camp,” the Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan raved before last night’s game on the Pittsburgh Penguins website.

“Jesse came to the camp in great shape. He skates really strong.”

Sullivan reminded that Puljujärvi underwent a major operation last summer, in which both of his hips were operated on.

The rehabilitation process was long and painful, and at first Puljujärvi could not even walk. In his first game after surgery, he played in the AHL in January. In the Penguins, he played 22 games in the spring season with 1+4=4 power points.

“Now Jesse had the opportunity to train more strength during the summer,” said the head coach.

The Penguins suffer from injuries at the beginning of the season, which strengthen Puljujärvi’s position. Of the attackers in the standard lineup Blake Lizotte suffering from a concussion, and also Bryan Rust has been out of practice.

According to the head coach, Puljujärvi’s large size, skating skills and goal-forward play bring new dimensions to the Penguins team.

“And one of Jesse’s biggest strengths is his ability to steal pucks when he chases down defenders. He catches them with his reach and speed. And when Jesse gets the puck, it’s hard to take it away from him,” Sullivan praised.

The night in the training match, Puljujärvi collected one assist point. He served a pass to Hayes, who was able to sweep the puck from an easy spot into an empty net.

“Puljujärvi played a strong match again. He’s certainly played himself into discussions about the NHL lineup,” Sullivan said after the game.

The Penguins won the match 3–1. Valtteri Puustinen scored Pittsburgh’s opening goal Ville Koivunen input.

Joona Koppanen got an assist Jonathan Gruden’s to score 2–1.

Puustinen is fighting for a place in the Penguins’ NHL team, but Koivunen and Koppanen will very likely head to the AHL.

It also speaks for Puljujärvi’s NHL place that the Finn is part of the team’s lineup on Friday as well. Pittsburgh will meet Columbus again at that time.

Friday’s game features the Penguins’ best players, and since it’s the last practice game, the lineup is at least close to the final NHL roster.

No other Finns have been entered in the Pittsburgh lineup.

of the St. Louis Blues Kasperi Kapanen28, was on fire as the Blues downed the Dallas Stars 4-3. Kapanen collected power points 1+1. He scored the goal with a nice spin.