The Pittsburgh Penguins were expected to get by without Kristopher Letang on Friday night and compatriot Pierre-Olivier Joseph took the opportunity to showcase himself.
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The Quebec defender scored two goals and provided an assist in a 6-3 win over the Ducks in Anaheim.
Letang had been forced to miss the clash due to a virus.
“Whenever a great defender like him is sick, you want to make sure you defend well and do a bit more as a fullback. I think we did a good job tonight [vendredi]said Joseph after the game.
“When a great player like Kris is out, you just have to try to take advantage of it. We had to help the forwards by creating offense. I think we did a good job moving the puck and creating space for our forwards to make a few plays.”
The Laval native was the third most used defenseman by head coach Mike Sullivan, who spent 19 minutes and 31 seconds on the ice surface. It was the second time in 67 National League games that he had three points in one game, but it was the first time he had moved the strings twice in one game.
Of a humble nature, Joseph preferred to brag about his teammates rather than putting himself forward.
“I just benefited from the opportunities our forwards created,” he said of his two wins. I just had the chance to finish the job.”
In the final moments of the duel against the Ducks, Joseph’s teammates tried a few times to get him to score a third goal. It would have been the 23-year-old’s first hat trick.
“I don’t think that’s ever happened to me, even in minor hockey,” Joseph said.
“One day it will happen to me,” he added hopefully.
In addition, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin took advantage of this game to collect two assists and thus reach the plateau of 1,200 points scored in the Bettman circuit. He achieved the feat in 1032 games.
“One thousand two hundred is a good number, expressed the Russian. Three more seasons and I might be retired with 1,500 points in the bank, which is also a good number.