Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

HORNETS OFF TO BEST START IN RECENT MEMORY
Earn five wins in first six contests

PITTSBURGH - The forwards are scoring. The defenders are slowing the opposition. The goaltenders are stopping pucks. Things are different in Pittsburgh this year.

“We win games,” said second-year Hornet Evgeni Malkin. “We win [expletive] games.”

Five out of the first six, to be precise.

After two one-goal victories to start the season – a six-goal outburst in the season-opener against Cornwall and a five-goal output against Oregon – the Hornets fell in the third game of the season to Colorado, 3-1. The Hornets have since earned three straight victories, scoring 19 goals in those three games.

Malkin and his linemates, Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, are a large part of that scoring – the trio has netted 12 goals in those six games.

Not to be outdone, the second line of Pierre-Luc Dubois centering Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and newcomer Elias Pettersson has put away 13 goals in the same span.

“It’s nice to see the goals coming,” general manager Lance Lavelle said after today’s morning skate. “Our bottom six has been solid, too, and hopefully the goals will come for them. The chances have been there. For us to be competitive over the long term, we need all four lines rolling.”

The Hornets organization should be pleased with rookie Alex Newhook, who has two goals and has played in all six games so far this season. Less so with Kasperi Kapanen, who has yet to record a point this season and has only nine shots on goal in those six games.

“The chances are there,” said first-year Hornet and GHL veteran Jordan Staal. “We just need to play our game and the goals will come.”

The defense, a relative weakness for the squad heading into the season, remains questionable; however, none of the seven players who have suited up for the Hornets blueline this season draw ill attention to their performances so far.

And between the pipes, off-season acquisitions Ville Husso and Jonathan Quick have tended goal well enough to allow Pittsburgh to win games. Husso, in particular, finds himself near the top of the league in SP% (0.928) and GAA (2.60) amongst the league’s starters.

“We can’t keep testing [Husso] nightly, though,” said Lavelle. “We need to clamp down a bit defensively. But as long as we continue to win games, I guess it doesn’t matter right now.”

[Lance-Pittsburgh]

HORNETS ATOP WALES
Pittsburgh on pace for 112 points

PITTSBURGH - The 2018/19 GHL season was the last time the Hornets saw the right side of a .500 winning percentage. And while two-thirds of a season still remains to play, Pittsburgh is trending in the right direction.

“This franchise has only had three winning seasons, and only one season I took over,” general manager Lance Lavelle said at his weekly press conference. “There’s a different energy on and off the ice this season. I like where we’re headed as an organization.”

The wins are coming in equal parts due to a top six forward group that is clicking shift after shift, a blueline that seems to be greater than the sum of its parts, a goaltending duo that ranks amongst the league’s best, and special teams units that are incredibly efficient.

The forwards are led by centers Pierre-Luc Dubois and Evgeni Malkin, who lead the team with 39 and 38 points respectively. The entire top six group, including Jesper Bratt, Jack Hughes, Elias Pettersson, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins rank within the top 45 scorers in the league – a testament to their consistency so far this season.

“We have good chemistry,” Jack Hughes said of his linemates, Malkin and Bratt. We know where to find each other on the ice.

The blueline, while not possessed of household names, has managed to put together a solid season so far, helping the Hornets to allow the second fewest goals in the league. Additionally, third-year GHLer Adam Boqvist has been a welcome offensive presence on the backend, putting up 20 points while finding time in the top two pairings and on the power play.

“I’m just doing what I’m told,” Boqvist recounted. “Those guys in front of me are really making me look good.”

Looking good is what goaltenders Ville Husso and Jonathan Quick are doing this season. Quick, in his second stint with Pittsburgh, is putting up numbers reminiscent of those that made him the franchise leader in wins. Husso, who is getting the majority of the starts, is also posting numbers that put him in the top tier of GHL netminders.

“We all want to win,” Husso said. “I’m lucky to have really solid teammates. When they score all those goals, I don’t have to do too much back there.”

Heading into tonight’s game, goals on the powerplay were coming at rate of 33%, good for second-best in the league behind Philadelphia. Prevent powerplay goals, too, is a strength of Pittsburgh this season – the penalty kill unit is working a 80% efficiency, which is fifth-best in the GHL this season. The Hornets are also the least penalized team in the league.

“We’re just hoping to keep the good times going,” said rookie Alex Newhook, who has established himself on the team’s third line. “There are a lot of good teams in this league, so we know things could change very quickly.”