Penguins coach Mike Sullivan is typically hesitant to blame any individual player or select groups of players for any on-ice performance. He normally will defend them all.
Such was the case when he was asked about the third defensive pairing of Jack Johnson and Justin Schultz on Sunday.
During Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of their qualifying-round series at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, the duo was on the ice for the Canadiens’ opening goal during the first period as well as the winning score in overtime.
On the first goal by Canadiens forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Johnson collided with Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese, then slammed Kotkaniemi into the net as he scored.
In overtime, Johnson and Schultz were tangled up in the defensive right corner as Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry fired a wrister to win the game.
“Both goals were scored as a result of over-backchecking,” Sullivan said. “What happened was, the puck ended up going to the second wave or the late wave. We’ve got to do a better job at making sure that we pick up that second wave on the attack.
“We have a lot of confidence in that pair (of Johnson and Schultz). They’re good players.”
