HC Mike Sullivan makes feelings known about Alex Nedeljkovic’s 43-save performance in win vs Blue Jackets

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan opened up about his feelings regarding Alex Nedeljkovic’s brilliant night in the 6-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night.

The Blue Jackets fired 47 shots on goal but couldn't close the gap as Nedeljkovic stymied the Jackets all night. Nedeljkovic’s performance prompted Sullivan to say:

“He was great all night. Obviously, they’re a high-shot volume team. They put a lot of pucks on the net. (Nedeljkovic) made a few grade-A strops in the third period, in particular, when they were pushing hard.”

The Blue Jackets peppered Alex Nedeljkovic and Penguins with 18 shots on goal. However, Nedeljkovic held fort, giving just one goal in the final frame.

All told, Alex Nedeljkovic had one of his best games this season. He was the main reason why the Penguins escaped Friday night’s tilt with the two points.

The strong performance earned Nedeljkovic his 13th win of the season, lowering his GAA to 3.16 and lifting his SV% to .893. The American netminder has appeared in 175 career games, totaling 73 wins and nine shutouts.

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Alex Nedeljkovic snapped a five-game losing streak against the Blue Jackets

Friday night’s win was big for Alex Nedeljkovic in more ways than one.

The Penguins goaltender entered the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on a five-game skid. Nedeljkovic lost his last start against the Vegas Golden Knights, giving up four goals on 27 shots.

However, Nedeljkovic was on the wrong end of two tough-luck defeats, giving up two goals against the Colorado Avalanche and the Boston Bruins.

Unfortunately for Nedeljkovic, things got truly bad in back-to-back starts against the Philadelphia Flyers, surrendering six goals on 38 shots on Feb. 25 and three goals on 14 shots two days later.

That situation led the Penguins to recall Tristan Jarry to the big club. Jarry had played well since returning to the ice, going 4-1-0 in five games.

However, that didn’t stop Nedeljkovic from turning in a strong performance on Friday night. The impressive outing could be the spark Nedeljkovic and the Penguins need to turn things around and salvage what they can from the ongoing season.

The Penguins will be back on the ice on Sunday against the Florida Panthers. It remains to be seen if Nedeljkovic starts or if coach Mike Sullivan goes back to Tristan Jarry.