Welcome to Freeze Frame -- our brand new quick-hitter analysis feature that we'll pump out after every game the Penguins play, with plans to do the same for Steelers and Pirates.
The goal of this feature isn't to go in-depth or even stress over the biggest or most impactful plays of any particular game but, rather, to highlight something specific from each event, typically an individual play or sequence, stat, or anything else along those lines. The door is open to have some fun with this.
Dejan Kovacevic -- after butt-dialing me 30 minutes earlier -- gave me a real call Wednesday and floated the idea for this feature. We decided to move on it in a hurry. The spirit here is to bring even more unique coverage to you in a brief, but fun and insightful style.
We're excited to roll this out and believe you'll really enjoy it.
Sam Poulin notched his first NHL point in his NHL debut, picking up a secondary assist on Evgeni Malkin's goal in the Penguins' 4-1 loss to the Flames on Tuesday night, as Taylor Haase covered in Calgary, Alberta.
While the player who picks up the secondary assist on a goal doesn't always have as big of an impact as the player with the primary assist or, obviously, the goal-scorer, Poulin was a big factor in this one:
While the Penguins transitioned the puck up ice on the power play with the Flames in the midst of changing penalty-killers, Poulin smartly opened his entire body to the puck on the far side of the ice and utilized backward crossovers to maintain his momentum and speed as he received the outlet pass from Malkin.
Poulin's best work here, though, was what he did as he crossed the offensive blue line with possession. Instead of keeping his body open to the middle of the ice while surveying, Poulin changed the angle of his skates, hips and shoulders to close himself off and dart to the outside of the ice. This forced Rasmus Andersson to shade over -- out of the center lane that Jeff Carter would soon come flying through -- to try and make a play on Poulin.
Really, go back and pause right as Poulin gets to the blue line. His left skate was nearly pointed to the boards after coming in at a completely different attack angle just a moment earlier. That's one way to create space for your teammates.
As Andersson closed in, Poulin attacked the area in between his skates and stick with a pass to the middle, making it nearly impossible to deflect.
This is a great display of skill, deception and hockey IQ from Poulin, all of which bodes well for his chances of getting a longer look in the NHL.
