Thiessen gets boost from debut in Pittsburgh
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Brad Thiessen was halfway into his first NHL game with the Pittsburgh Penguins when he received a huge welcome to the big league.
It came in the second period when Columbus Blue Jackets sniper Rick Nash picked up a loose puck and skated in alone on Thiessen. In an instant, Nash lifted a shot over Thiessen’s shoulder for a shorthanded tally.
Pittsburgh would go on to win the game and Thiessen would earn a victory in his first NHL start. But allowing his first NHL goal to a sniper like Nash… well, Thiessen said it could’ve been worse.
“I can’t say that I’m disappointed that the first goal I ever let in was to one of the best players in the league,” Thiessen said. “It happened so fast, but I knew it was him coming down.”
Thiessen was in Pittsburgh for about a month for his first NHL call-up. He appeared in five games, starting four and going 3-1. When backup Brent Johnson regained his health, Thiessen was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on March 29.
He said his time with the big club was a huge confidence booster.
“You always wonder if you can play at that level, and to be able to go out there and contribute to a few wins was important,” Thiessen said. “It’s an opportunity I’ve been waiting for a long time, and to have some extended time there was a good experience.”
Norfolk up next
The Penguins have one last chance to notch a win against the Admirals tonight in Norfolk. The Penguins are 2-7 this season against the AHL’s top team, having dropped the last three meetings.
Tonight, they face an Admirals team that is on a 22-game win streak, and the Penguins would like nothing better than to be the team that ends the run.
“It would be a big confidence booster to go in there and beat them on their home ice to end the streak,” said defenseman Alex Grant. “When there’s a streak going, everyone wants to be the team to end it. We have that chance tonight.”
Thiessen said the chance to end Norfolk’s streak gives the game some extra meaning in the waning stages of the regular season.
“There’s different moments when the season seems like it’s long and it’s the same old, same old,” he said. “When you get a chance to have a game against a team with a 22-game winning streak, it definitely adds a little extra to it.”
But Grant cautioned that the Penguins aren’t solely focused on ending Norfolk’s streak. After winning the last two games on the road, Grant said the thing that matters most to the Penguins is making it three.
On the season, the Penguins have the most road wins in the league with 26. Head coach John Hynes said tonight’s matchup isn’t a statement game, but rather a chance to see how his team stacks up against the AHL’s top squad.
“It’s about our ability to play against the best team in the league and see if we can compete with them and come away with a win,” Hynes said.
Still, Hynes did admit that Norfolk’s streak is hard to overlook.
“It’s impressive,” he said.
Sneep out for season
Hynes said defenseman Carl Sneep will have surgery for an upper body injury and is out for the season. Sneep hasn’t played since March 17. He appeared in 40 games this season, posting 10 assists and a plus-5 rating.
Samuelsson sent down
Defenseman Philip Samuelsson was reassigned to Wheeling on Monday. He will join the Nailers for the start of their playoff matchup against Kalamazoo today.
