Owen Pickering makes NHL debut as Penguins eke out shootout win over Sharks

PITTSBURGH — Kyle Dubas’ youth movement may have begun in earnest Saturday in Pittsburgh.

Top defense prospect Owen Pickering made his NHL debut — and notched his first point, too — in the Penguins’ 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks at PPG Paints Arena. It was also the first game in black and gold for Vasily Ponomarev. Sam Poulin made it three players aged 23 or younger in the Penguins lineup and seven under 27.

In terms of the sheer number of young players or also their pedigree, the Penguins were not in the same stratosphere as Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks, who have a head start on them as rebuilders. But it was a noticeable change for Pittsburgh.

And those fresh legs and a dash of youthful exuberance helped make a difference Saturday as the Penguins beat the Sharks and snapped a three-game losing skid.

First, the Penguins blew a 3-0 lead. But they salvaged the victory in a shootout.

Even though this was clearly shaping up to be a transition season for the Penguins, with Dubas focusing this offseason on adding picks and prospects and maintaining financial flexibility, it was still disappointing they won just seven of their first 20.

Dubas, their second-year president of hockey operations, sent a message Tuesday when he traded 35-year-old Lars Eller to Washington. That netted the Penguins a pair of picks. It also started to pave the way for prospects to arrive in Pittsburgh.

Pickering, though not seen a sure-fire star, is the most hyped of the first arrivals.

The 20-year-old was the 21st overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft. He was drafted by the front-office duo of Ron Hextall and Brian Burke. He turned pro this summer after four years with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League.

The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Manitoba native had a decent training camp but was sent to the American Hockey League a few days ahead of final cuts. He played 12 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, scoring his first pro goal and posting a plus-5 rating.

On Friday, the Penguins called Pickering to the NHL for the first time in his young career, but he was a healthy scratch later that night for the 6-2 loss at Columbus.

Pickering was in the lineup Saturday, replacing Ryan Graves. Prior to the game, it was not known if Graves was out due to injury or was made a healthy scratch for the first time since Dubas signed him to a six-year, $27 million contract in 2023.

Typically pretty jovial, Pickering had a determined look on his face as he stepped on the ice at PPG Paints Arena for the traditional rookie lap. Pickering, who went without a helmet during pregame warmups, played on the third pair Saturday.

In the first period, Pickering became the 16th defenseman in Penguins history to record a point in his NHL debut. He had the secondary assist on Jesse Puljujarvi’s goal, which gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead. At the left point, Pickering thought about taking a shot but instead made a heady pass that set the scoring play in motion.

Drew O’Connor pointed at Pickering then fished the puck out of the net for him.

Setting aside his first career point, it was a solid first game for Pickering. He was a plus-1 rating in about 14 minutes of ice time. He mixed in on the penalty kill. And his only big defensive lapse came in the first period, when he misplayed a 3-on-1 rush for the Sharks. But Alex Nedeljkovic stopped Klim Kostin to bail Pickering out.

Ponomarev played well in his first game at PPG Paints Arena, too. And while it was an off night for Poulin, coach Mike Sullivan praised him for his play in previous games.

The Penguins grabbed the early lead when Bryan Rust beat Vitek Vanecek with a wraparound. They were unfazed when a beautiful backhand goal by Evgeni Malkin got taken off the board because they were offside. Puljujarvi scored a minute later.

At that point, the vibes in the building were so much better than they were earlier in the week, when the Penguins dropped a pair of games on home ice. Maybe it had something to do with it being Grateful Dead Night at PPG Paints Arena. More likely, it was Pickering’s debut coupled with a strong start that had fans feeling good.

Sidney Crosby made it 3-0 in the second period when his long shot somehow got through Mackenzie Blackwood, who replaced Vanecek after the first. That put the captain on the verge of yet another big milestone. That was his 599th career goal.

But the struggling Penguins would let yet another multi-goal get away from them.

The Sharks pulled back within 3-1 on a Tyler Toffoli power-play goal. Ponomarev, one of the prospects acquired in the Jake Guentzel trade, was in the penalty box.

Mikael Granlund — whom Dubas sent to San Jose in the Erik Karlsson deal — made it 3-2 when he roofed a shot over Nedeljkovic midway through the third period.

Toffoli scored again with 8:20 left in the third to tie it up. It was a second straight goal off the rush. This time, it was a 2-on-4 but the Penguins let the Sharks score.

In overtime, Crosby had three good chances to win the game in milestone fashion. But Crosby was unable to beat Blackwood, who stopped 25 of 26 shots in relief.

It took a shootout to settle this battle between two teams who ranked in the NHL’s bottom five in points percentage. Malkin got the decisive goal in the fifth round.

Ice chips

— The Penguins have blown a multi-goal lead in seven of 20 games, losing five.

— The Penguins are now 4-1-0 in the second game of a back-to-back this season.

— Crosby’s goal snapped a five-game drought. He last scored Nov. 5 at New York.

— Kris Letang missed his second straight game due to an illness. Pittsburgh’s other scratches were Graves and Valtteri Puustinen, scratched in favor of Ponomarev.

— Karlsson went to the dressing room in some pain after he got drilled along the boards by Ty Dellandrea in the first period. But the defender didn’t miss a shift.

— Sullivan indicated the Penguins could take additional caution with Blake Lizotte after the forward suffered his second concussion in as many months. Lizotte, who went back on injured reserve on Friday, has played just seven games this season.

Stat n’at

3 — Penguins prospects to make their NHL debut this season. The first two were Rutger McGroarty and Joel Blomqvist, who are back in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Coming up

The Penguins have a scheduled off day Sunday. They’ll return to practice Monday ahead of their next game, a home tilt Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.