Top 5 Takeaways from the 1st Week of Play for the Pittsburgh Penguins

We're just two games into the 2014-15 NHL season. So far, it looks like the drama that the Pittsburgh Penguins endured through the offseason is leading to positive results.

It's hard not to feel optimistic about a 2-0 record to start the season, 11 goals in those two games and strong play throughout the lineup. 

Coach Mike Johnston appears to have found a way to supercharge an already aggressive Penguins offense, leading to plenty of scoring and a playing style that's great fun for fans to watch.

Of course, no team is ever perfect, and small sample sizes can lead to extreme conclusions. Just as we won't assume that Sidney Crosby's on his way to a 252-point season, neither should we believe that the penalty kills and goaltending won't come back toward normal levels as the year winds on.

From what we've seen so far, here are the top five takeaways from the Pittsburgh Penguins' first two games of the season.

Mike Johnston's New System Makes for Exciting Hockey

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

Fast starts and explosive offense have led to two dynamic wins for new Pittsburgh head coach Mike Johnston and his team.

Against both the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, the Penguins opened with three-goal first periods, which set the stage for their wins.

Though the Penguins have been a high-powered team for years, Casey Shea of CBS Pittsburgh does an excellent job of breaking down why Johnston's system might help scorers like Sidney Crosby find more open ice than they did toward the end of the Dan Bylsma years:

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With Johnston’s system, the Penguins give themselves options with the puck leaving the zone. Whether it’s a "D to D" pass, a chip to a wing or skating the puck, the goal is to have space and speed exiting the zone.

As for the offensive zone, the amount of puck and player movement we’ve seen in these two games is leading to a lot of the goals. It’s a pretty simple approach.

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Shea also applauds Johnston for getting his team to create some chaos in front of the net, a change that has led to some dirty goals.

If they keep this up, the Penguins will be a lot of fun to watch this year.

Sidney Crosby Has His Groove Back

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

After contributing just one goal in Pittsburgh's 13 playoff games last spring, then deciding not to have wrist surgery during the summer, plenty of questions lingered about whether Sidney Crosby would be starting the season 100 percent healthy.

Early returns say that he has.

Through Sunday's games, Crosby was tied for the league lead in scoring with six points and was named the NHL's third star of the week. According to Elias Sports Bureau (via NHL.com), he also became the first Penguin to record at least three points in the first two games of the season since the heady 1995-96 campaign, when Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis and Jaromir Jagr all accomplished the feat.

It's a great omen for one of the game's most important ambassadors, who looks poised to build on his 104-point Art Ross Trophy season from 2013-14. 

Everybody's Feeling Fine

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Crosby wasn't the only player whose status was a question mark coming into the season.

Evgeni Malkin missed the entire exhibition schedule with an undisclosed injury, while forward Pascal Dupuis and young defenseman Olli Maatta are both coming back from surgical procedures.

Not to worry. All three players have looked great through Pittsburgh's first two games.

Malkin is skating on the wing until he gets back to his peak game shape but has already popped a goal and three assists. Maatta and Dupuis both returned to action with career-best performances.

Maatta recorded the first three-point night of his young career against Anaheim, while Dupuis matched his own career high that same night with a goal and three assists. Dupuis also had a goal disallowed that probably should have counted, according to Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"He doesn’t look too sharp right now," center Sidney Crosby joked to Molinari after the game. "You’re just happy to see him do well. He’s worked hard for it."

With all the key cogs in the machine healthy and contributing, the Pens are firing on all cylinders offensively.

Penalty Kill Needs Work

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Defensively, the good news is that Pittsburgh has surrendered just one goal at even strength through its first two games.

The bad news is that the team has given up six goals in total, so five goals against have come on the penalty kill. That ties Pittsburgh for 28th in the league, at a woeful 54.6 percent.

It can take players a little longer to adapt to a new coach's defensive systems.

According to Dave Molinari, Mike Johnston is confident that his penalty-killing units and strategies are fine. He cited Corey Perry's three power-play goals for Anaheim on Thursday night as an illustration of how only small tweaks are needed.

"Perry [got] loose in the slot three times," Johnston said. "There were guys right there, so you’re in the right spot, but we just didn’t have his stick. So it’s the details of how we’re playing on the penalty-kill, more so."

It hasn't been all bad news on the penalty kill through the first two games. Pittsburgh's sixth goal on Thursday was a short-handed marker by Brandon Sutter.

Also, the other side of the special teams ledger is going great: Pittsburgh's tied for third in the early going with a 4-of-9 power-play record.

Marc-Andre Fleury Remains a Question Mark

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Just like every year since Marc-Andre Fleury backstopped the Penguins to the Stanley Cup in 2009, questions linger about whether the veteran netminder has the tools to come up big when the offense in front of him sputters or has an off night.

ESPN Stats & Info reports that on opening night against Anaheim, Fleury recorded his 34th career win when giving up four goals—the most among active goaltenders. With a 3.00 goals-against average and .889 save percentage through the first two games, Fleury has started out well below his career averages of 2.62 and .910.

Fleury's in the last year of a seven-year contract, according to CapGeek.com, with no extension in place at this time. He'll need to play some of the best hockey of his life this season if he hopes to quiet the speculation about the Penguins potentially bringing in a "goalie of the future" for the playoff run.

All stats courtesy of NHL.com.