Alex Nedeljkovic did not judge his 22-save performance Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks as his being best game to date this season.
“I’ve felt good in all four (starts) so far,” the Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender said. “Obviously, the results haven’t been there, but (I’m) trying to stay positive and working at it, sticking with it. It led to a good result tonight.”
Being the one in net, Nedeljkovic is probably best positioned to formulate self-assessments game in and game out.
So he’s well within his rights to declare that Thursday’s 2-1 overtime win over the Ducks didn’t feel much different than his prior starts this year.
That said, Nedeljkovic (1-2-1) did manage to pick up his first win of the season against Anaheim and let in only one goal, a season-low.
His .957 save percentage (22 saves on 23 shots) was also a season-best through four starts.
Nedeljkovic made several highlight-reel saves over the course of the game, particularly late in the third period, with the game tied 1-1.
“He was there for us when we needed him the most, especially at the end when both teams are trying to win,” said defenseman Erik Karlsson.
While the Ducks aren’t quite known for a surplus of offensive firepower, the Penguins nonetheless limited the opposition to 23 shots, a season-low.
That was a welcomed departure from the 40-shot-plus broadsides they’ve subjected their netminders to on multiple occasions to date.
Furthermore, the Penguins entered Thursday night allowing the most shots per game (35.5) in the NHL, making their defensive performance against Anaheim a notable deviation from an unfortunate norm.
“It’s one of those games where I think we controlled the puck possession,” Karlsson said. “(Nedeljkovic) didn’t have that much to do, I think, for large portions of the game, but he stayed sharp.
“… I know we gave up a couple of chances that we probably shouldn’t have, but we were in it to win it. I think that was our mentality for the majority of this game — we wanted to win this one, we were playing to win and we weren’t scared of losing.”
Nedeljkovic got a critical helping hand from defenseman Marcus Pettersson late in the third period.
With less than five minutes to play, Pettersson cleaned up a loose puck at the goal line, depriving Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras of the go-ahead goal after the Ducks center’s shot deflected off Nedeljkovic’s glove and came dangerously close to finding the back of the net.
If it weren't for Marcus Pettersson, this game likely doesn't even get to overtime. ????
What a play! https://t.co/1XhWhKRVrhpic.twitter.com/uMtV41YwDv
— NHL (@NHL) November 1, 2024
During the first period, fellow blueliner Kris Letang made a pair of similarly key contributions, blocking two close-range shots by former teammate Brian Dumoulin during a chaotic sequence in front of the cage.
“Obviously, you’ve got to pay a price to win and the guys tonight did that,” Nedeljkovic said. “It didn’t come easy. (Letang) had a couple big blocks there. (Pettersson) pulled one off the goal line for me late in the third there, too. All around, I thought we had a really good, strong game from top to bottom.”
As Karlsson alluded to, the Penguins’ significant offensive zone presence — they outshot Anaheim 46-23 — meant that Nedeljkovic had some idle time on his hands over the course of the evening.
For Nedeljkovic, denying the vast majority of the Ducks’ looks constituted a solid night at the office.
“You want to be able to make the (saves) you’re supposed to make, maybe make an extra one or two if you can that you’re out on but you find a way to make a save,” Nedeljkovic said. “That’s our job at the end of the day, to make saves, and it doesn’t matter how difficult they are, we’ve got to find a way to do it. Felt like I’ve been building in the right direction, and it was nice to see it come together tonight.”