Penguins’ Thiessen is winner in debut

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

The Pittsburgh Penguins have no plans to make a splashy trade before today’s deadline, figuring the possible return of Sidney Crosby before the playoffs far outweighs anything they could get in a cluttered market.

Considering the way they’re playing at the moment, the Penguins look pretty formiable even without their captain.

Evgeni Malkin scored his 37th goal of the season, Brad Thiessen made 21 saves in his NHL debut and the Penguins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 on Sunday.

Pascal Dupuis, Kris Letang and Joe Vitale also scored for Pittsburgh, which found the back of the net four times in the last 21 minutes to win for the ninth time in its last 10 home games. Steve Sullivan added a pair of assists as the Penguins completed a weekend sweep of Tampa Bay and Columbus with ease.

“That’s two big consistent wins for us,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. “I thought we had two good responses.”

The Penguins won their third straight overall behind Thiessen, who earned his first career start in play of usual backup Brent Johnson, who is dealing with an illness. The 25-year-old Thiessen showed no jitters against the league’s worst team. His first NHL save smacked against his mask about four minutes into the game and he quickly settled in.

“I tried just to stay focused and enjoy the moment,” Thiessen said. “It was everything I expected and more.”

While Thiessen said hello, Columbus captain Rick Nash may be saying goodbye. The veteran is pressing the team for a trade. If Sunday was his last game in Columbus, he went out with a bang, scoring in his 654th and perhaps final game with the Blue Jackets.

As of Sunday, Nash remained with the only NHL team he’s ever played for, at least for 24 more hours.

“When you’re on a losing team, changes happen,” Nash said. “It’s unfortunate because we have a tight group of guys but we realize it’s a business.”