Three of Pittsburgh's four goals in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Blackhawks were scored by guys who are all fighting for roster spots. Dustin Jeffrey, Nick Johnson and Mark Letestu each notched one, while Evgeni Malkin merely flexed his scoring muscle early on in the first to put the Pens up 1-0.
Oddly enough all of the assists, with the exception of one, came on behalf of roster locks who may just be looking to get their skates wet while helping some of the younger guys along. Paul Martin dished out two helpers on the night while Craig Adams, Mike Comrie, Chris Kunitz, Mike Rupp, Max Talbot and Eric Tangradi each had one.
For a preseason game, this one was pretty tame. Then again, anything will pale in comparison to Saturday's game against the Blue Jackets in which 10 fighting majors were handed out. Or perhaps the better word is "earned."
Nevertheless, Pittsburgh improved to a perfect 4-0 preseason record with Tuesday's win and will now hit the road for the remaining two against Chicago on Friday and Detroit on Sunday.
And then, my friends, we return to work Monday only four days away from the start of the regular season.