Bradford's Five Thoughts: Youth serves up another success

Another game, another time  -- OK, last month -- the Penguins probably lose this one.

But, as has become abundantly clear the past three weeks, these are not the Penguins of November and December. No, they might still be searching for that perfect 60-minute effort, but Tuesday night they were plenty good enough in 45 of them to score an impressive 3-1 win over the Hurricanes at PPG Paints Arena.

Considering their two previous outings against speedy Carolina, losses by scores of 2-1 and 4-0, that's progress.

Want to see a sense of urgency? Want to see pushback? Want to see secondary, heck, tertiary scoring? The Penguins checked those boxes off emphatically.

The Penguins led 11-3 in shots only to see that disappear when Derek Ryan put the Hurricanes on the board at 7:14 of the second. Naturally, the Penguins answered with goals 1:16 apart from -- wait for it -- Dominik Simon and Jean-Sebastien Dea. And that's all Casey DeSmith needed.

Imagine that?

Think you'd have said a couple weeks ago the Penguins would win a game with goals from a couple of obscure minor-leaguers and an unheralded goalie? Me neither.

Then again, maybe we shouldn't be surprised. It's basically the same formula the Penguins used in 2016 and '17. And we know how those seasons ended.

"They're real excited to be here and you can see it, they always have a smile on their faces," said Bryan Rust, who himself was a kid on the '16 Cup team. "They're just so happy to do what they can to help the team win."

And that youthful exuberance rubs off on a team of grizzled veterans who have been through more than anyone in the NHL over the past 2 1/2 years.

"I think it's great," Mike Sullivan said. "It's great for our veteran guys. It takes a little pressure off our star guys who we rely on so much to generate offense night in and night out. The young guys who are scoring, it's such a boost of confidence for those guys."

Wins such as the one on Tuesday are the sign of a good team and, let's face it, that's what the Penguins are slowly starting to become again. And it's the kind of result they will need if they are to keep afloat in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. Tuesday's victory, uplifting as it was, was the Penguins' seventh in 10 games but only moved them into the eighth and final playoff spot.

1. How about this for a guy from Laval, Quebec?

Not only does Jean-Sebastien Dea score his first NHL goal, he’s greeted afterward in the dressing room by Mario Lemieux. The owner and most famous Laval resident was there to speak a few encouraging words — don’t ask what was said, it was in French, of course — and to shake the 23-year-old's hand.

It’s been a long road to the NHL for Dea, who has spent five years in the organization with Wilkes-Barre and, yes, even Wheeling.

Tuesday was Dea's fourth NHL game and third since being recalled last week. He'd been used sparingly, averaging just 3:59, centering the fourth line. Yet at 9:19 of the second period, on a 2-on-1 break with Rust, Dea came through. Dare you to not smile watching this:  

"It was special," said Dea, who made the most of his 5:39. "I don't know what to say right now. It's a pretty amazing feeling. I've dreamed about it since I was a little boy."

Needless to say Dea was a little overjoyed, bumping into Canes defenseman Noah Hanifin and the ref, looking to high-five any teammate within arm's length. Rust quickly collected the puck, a souvenir that Dea says he'll keep for himself.

"I saw Rusty going wide, I just used my speed there and tried to get to the net and Rusty made a nice pass and I just tapped it in," he said. "After that I didn't know what to think. I just wanted to celly, celebrate that first goal."  

Few people were happier for him than Sullivan: "He'll never forget that as long as he lives." Sullivan briefly coached Dea in Wilkes-Barre in 2015 and has always liked his game.

"I could see the talent level that was there," he said. "It was just a matter of developing that level of consistency game in and game out and then trying to become a more complete player and just making a commitment to play away from the puck and faceoffs and playing down low in the D zone, things of that nature."

2. Ryan Reaves was a healthy scratch. It’ll be OK.

For the first time in his 50-game Pittsburgh career, the NHL's reigning heavyweight champion had a seat in the press box. And I'm OK with it. Surprised it took that long.

As I've stated many times in this space, Reaves plays a very valuable role even if he's not scoring. And he's clearly not doing the latter with just two points -- a goal and assist at Philadelphia on Jan. 2 -- since Nov. 1.

Reaves should play against the Flyers, Blue Jackets, Rangers, Capitals, you know, the usual suspects. But the Penguins need not bring a bazooka to a knife fight every night. In a game against the Hurricanes -- the NHL's least penalized team -- a much-needed two points trumped intimidation. 

The return of Rust from an upper body injury sustained Dec. 27 made Reaves a spare part for a night. Rust did more than just feed Dea on the rookie’s first goal, he does little things like this that add up:

Being gone for nearly a month, you almost forget how fast Rust is. The Penguins’ game is built on speed and transition and, much like Carl Hagelin, Rust uses his speed to generate chances and draw penalties. Getting him back in the lineup is a big boost:

3. Come mid-April, the Penguins will have a decision to make on Reaves.

You'll recall they fared pretty well without an enforcer in recent years, so I wouldn't be overly concerned about team toughness in the playoffs if Reaves sits. 

Know why? Patric Hornqvist. The Swede is a Tasmanian Devil on skates, whose style fits perfectly in the postseason. Hornqvist didn't register a point on Tuesday but his fingerprints were all over this victory. He is not the most talented Penguin, but he is the team's heart and soul.

Clearly, his net front presence drew the Hurricanes to distraction. First, Elias Lindholm gave him a vicious crosscheck into a goal post in the first period. In the second, Hornqvist got reacquainted with Cam Ward (below):

Later, he drew a coincidental unsportsmanlike penalty with Justin Faulk, who seemed to object to being touched.

Keep this game in mind and the intangible values that Hornqvist brings when his contract expires at season's end. The guy is going to get paid. A lot.

4. Dominik Simon looks here to stay. 

In the crowded victorious locker room, as reporters were still swarming around Dea, Simon walked up to a familiar face in the media and asked me: "Do you need to talk to me?"

Um, yeah.

Simon is starting to get more and more comfortable with the NHL. He's even stepped up his interview game, throwing in a few good one-liners. He is also looking more and more like a keeper. Not saying he should go out and buy a McMansion in Wexford just yet, but he can start looking to rent a place.

Who would've thought it would be Simon and not Daniel Sprong who would stick in the NHL? But all Simon has done is make it really difficult for the coaching staff to take him out of the lineup.

His 200-foot game has been noteworthy, and he hasn't looked the least bit out of place playing alongside Sidney Crosby, finding strong chemistry with the best playmaker in the world.

Exhibit A is Simon's goal at 8:03 of the second. Simon took a little chip pass from Crosby at his own blueline and streaked down the right side and blew this wicked wrister -- the Dom Bomb (patent pending) -- past Ward:

That's a goal-scorer's goal, even if he doesn't think so:

Simon, who had 25 goals two years ago in Wilkes-Barre, now has goals in consecutive home games to go along with five assists in 15 games. From an advanced metrics standpoint, Simon's 57.66 Corsi For Percentage (all situations) is tops among all Penguins. That's good production for anyone.

5. Sullivan knows his team far better than you. Or me.

I know, I know. I liked the Jake Guentzel at center thing as much as anyone since it allowed the Penguins to roll four lines evenly.

But as Sullivan was explaining after Tuesday's morning skate, the lineup hinges on Guentzel playing wing where the coaching staff prefers him. Said the Penguins needed to get Guentzel going after scoring just one in the previous 11 games. 

Well, wouldn't you know what happened? Dea -- who has taken over for Riley Sheahan on the fourth line -- scored and then Guentzel did this to cap off the win at 11:02 of the third thanks to a nice centering pass from Phil Kessel and some strong work down low by Sheahan:

Guentzel is notoriously a streaky scorer so here's hoping that this will jumpstart him. 

Maybe Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Sheahan and Dea down the middle is the answer at center for now or until Jim Rutherford finally acquires that third-line center he's been coveting. 

Until then, I'll defer to Sullivan on how to run his team. He kind of has a track record of success on these things.

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY