Kovacevic: Simon, Aston-Reese revved up to step up

PHILADELPHIA -- Zach Aston-Reese and Dominik Simon, the two rookies the Penguins will expect to make a real difference in Game 4 against the Flyers tonight, were seated at adjacent stalls in the Wells Fargo Center visitors' room after this morning's skate, simultaneously stripping off their pads, carrying the same NHL status, even sporting matching smiles ... and they still couldn't have come across with greater contrast.

Both will be needed, each in his own way, to replace Patric Hornqvist, who's out with an injury. And both were clearly looking forward to it, each in his own way: One was wired, the other a wreck.

Man, it was wonderful to watch.

"I can't wait," Aston-Reese would tell me, in that same inimitably cool way he plays. Calm exterior, fiery interior. "This is what you play for, your whole life, this kind of chance, this atmosphere."

He's been part of this Stanley Cup playoff series, of course, and he's fared mostly well within his average of 11 minutes, totaling three shots, a couple penalty minutes and generally good composure with the puck. He's thrown around that tank-like frame some, too. Even challenged Philadelphia defenseman Travis Sanheim to a scrap, though Sanheim — perhaps smartly — declined.

But tonight will be different, because Aston-Reese is sure to have his role elevated with Hornqvist out due to injury. The specifics of that role weren't divulged by Mike Sullivan after the skate, nor were they evident in the skate itself, an optional in which 14 players participated without line rushes. But precedent suggests Aston-Reese could get a chance on the second power play, possibly even on Sidney Crosby's line at five-on-five.

And he's amped.

"With each game that's gone on, I've felt a little more comfortable with the puck," Aston-Reese was saying. "A lot of playoff hockey comes down to winning battles along the boards and in front of the net, and I think that's starting to happen for me."

Remember his rampage before getting hurt a couple months ago?

Imagine that effect now.

Simon will be making his playoff debut, so his scenario is something else entirely. He's the more cerebral type, and that can get a person in trouble. Think too much, too hard, and instinct gets buried. When instinct is lost, a pass or shot gets executed a split-second too late.

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Ha!

Full credit to the kid for honesty. He's always been blunt like that. But he's also always been mature beyond his years, going back to his first day of development camp when, as I recall, he spoke at length breaking down his performance in that day's scrimmage as if setting up a thesis.

Simon might be alongside Crosby and Jake Guentzel. That's how practice went yesterday in Cranberry Township. He also might not be. Sullivan cautioned this morning that all lineup issues will be 'game-time decisions,' which is usually his hint to not assume that what was seen should be written in cement. I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if it's Aston-Reese on the first line, Simon on the fourth, where he can overcome those jitters, the same ones that visibly afflicted Aston-Reese in Game 1.

Or it could be Simon back on the first line, where he, like Aston-Reese, enjoyed a solid stretch with Crosby.

"Dom's a good player," Sullivan replied when our Chris Bradford asked about the chance he'll play tonight. "He's got really good offensive instincts, he's good in traffic and, for a guy who's not overly big, he's strong on the puck. And we expect him to just play his game. And have a whole lot of fun doing it. I know he's excited to help our team win games."

Four goals and eight assists over 33 regular-season games should manage expectations. But all of those goals came in a sizzling six-game stretch in late January in which he and Crosby clicked like brothers, and it looked at the time like he'd become a staple.

To repeat: Imagine that effect now.

The overall effect, I mean.

See, this always was going to be a need for this edition of the Penguins, that infusion of fresh talent in some form. I've believed that since the day after the second Cup in as many years in Nashville, mostly because it seemed inconceivable that the same group could go through this whole grind again without significant help.

That was supposed to come from Daniel Sprong. It didn't work out. Although he'd run up 33 goals in 65 games in the AHL, facing goaltenders with no chance of stopping what's already an elite NHL-level release, the rest of his game didn't advance anywhere near what Jim Rutherford, Bill Guerin and Sullivan had hoped.

It also could have come from any of the defensemen in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or Tristan Jarry in goal. But the general health of the defense in Pittsburgh prevented the former, and journeyman Casey DeSmith legitimately outperformed Jarry to earn backup duty behind Matt Murray.

That's left these two as the only ones who rose up.

I'm not sure if that'll be enough. Only more playoff hockey will tell. But it can't be stressed strongly enough how much it meant to the 2016 champions to have that initial wave of Conor Sheary, Bryan Rust, Tom Kuhnhackl and Murray come up and "basically kick our rear-ends a little bit," as Chris Kunitz put it at the time. And then in 2017, Guentzel would emerge from nowhere to lead the playoffs with 14 goals. Carter Rowney was a late-blooming rookie on that edition, too, and became a critical penalty-killer.

"I think everyone benefits from that, that spark when people come up and make you stronger," Kuhnhackl was saying. "For sure, we'd love to see it again."

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY