“I thought, tonight, it was more moments, it wasn’t long stretches but some moments that we could continue to clean up, but (Silovs) was there for when those happened,” Muse said. “So, it’s huge for him. He’s been putting in the work. He wants to keep taking steps and we want him to keep pushing for even more.”
With the injuries the team is facing at the forward position, Evgeni Malkin was added to that list as he missed Saturday night’s game with an illness. That opened the door for Avery Hayes to be recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and slotted in on the second line with Hendrix Lapierre and Koivunen. For the younger guys like Hayes and Rutger McGroarty, they have done a great job of slotting into the lineup.
“With the amount of guys that we have out and big roles that they’re playing for us, to have them to come in here and take the opportunity to play really well, it means a lot to us,” Rakell said. “Nashville is a good team. Kudos to everybody tonight. I think it was a team effort.”
With the team’s recent four-game losing streak in the rearview mirror, the Penguins have now won back-to-back games and are getting back to the level of play that they know they’re capable of.
“We get back off that road trip and everybody is obviously disappointed in the results, we’re disappointed in terms of the consistency of play,” Muse said. “I look at it as an opportunity for how can we come together? You have a stretch of games you don’t like, it’s a choice. You can feel bad for yourself… or you can come together. We needed to play a better brand of hockey. We still have things to clean up, but I think these last two games have been a step in the right direction.”