VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- After 20 minutes Saturday night, the Penguins looked very much like a team that hadn't slept in their own beds for the last dozen days, if not more. Their minds back on events in Pittsburgh, their legs looked as heavy as their hearts, their passes were haggard and, as had been the case too often of late, the shot clock was one-sided against them.
Then came the first shot that counted. For these guys, that's all it takes sometimes.
That led to a 5-0 crushing of the Canucks at Rogers Arena, placing an emphatic exclamation point on a four-game sweep through Canada and an emotional day for all concerned, even a continent away from the Squirrel Hill shooting.
The breakthrough finally came at 5:50 of the second period, when Phil Kessel buried the rebound of a fairly innocent Olli Maatta flick from the right point:
Nothing special, right?
It certainly wasn't tic-tac-toe, though those goals would come later courtesy of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. But rather, it was a fitting finish to that play in which Kessel, Malkin and Carl Hagelin churned deep in the Vancouver zone and wound up rewarded. Not just for this shift or this game, either. That trio has become the Penguins' lifeline. While Mike Sullivan has scrambled to mix and match centers with wingers up and down his chart, only Malkin, Kessel and Hagelin have endured.
But hey, it's kind of hard to break up a line that combined for 17 points over these four games north of the border.
"Geno's line has been terrific," Sullivan was saying afterward. "I just think they're playing so well at both ends of the rink right now. They're playing inspiring hockey, they really are. They're stopping on pucks, doing all the little things that we've asked of them that I think helps them to be successful."
While the best-player-in-the-world debate made for great fodder in stops in Toronto and Edmonton, homes of Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, this 32-year-old Russian Bear reminded once again that, nyet, he's not done yet.
Should he be in the conversation with McDavid, Matthews and Crosby?
"He's a guy, when he takes over games, he's almost impossible to stop," Hagelin replied to that question. "I'm fortunate to play with him and see what he does every day. It's fun."
Vancouver's coach, Travis Green, wouldn't argue when asked the same.
"Yeah," Green said with a laugh. "He's been a pretty good player for a pretty long time."
But, he added one caveat. It's not just Malkin that the Penguins' opponents have to contend with. There's still Crosby.
"You've got a 1-2 punch there that's ... everyone talks about all these young guys coming into the league and you've got two right there that have been in the league for a while and are still very dominant players."
True, but Malkin has been the most consistent point-producer for the Penguins, who head home with a 6-1-2 record and the Metropolitan Division lead after the flattest of five games to start the season. Malkin leads the NHL in points-per-game average (2.00) and, don't look now, but he's second in the scoring race, three points behind the Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen, a guy who probably won't hold that lead past Halloween.
Malkin picked up the secondary assist on Kessel's goal, extending his points streak to all nine games the Penguins have played this season. That made him the first Penguin to record at least 18 points through the first nine games in a season since Mario Lemieux in 2002-03, when the player/owner put up 20.
The key to Malkin's success, he insists, is Kessel.
"When Phil play good, I play good," he said. "It's all through him. When he's feeling it, I feel it too. When he's lazy, I'm like, 'I can't do it myself.' We try to play together right now and he's flying. He worked hard all summer and he's back ready."
Yeah, he's funny, too.
Indeed, if it wasn't for the speed and chemistry of that line, one which has been mostly intact since the early part of training camp, it's questionable whether the Penguins could be where they are. For the first 25 minutes Saturday, they were the only line with any jump. But Malkin, Kessel and Hagelin dug a little deeper, did what Sullivan called the "little things," and dominated possession: Malkin had an astronomical 70.97 Corsi For percentage, Kessel 64.0, Hagelin 56.0.
"There's going to be games throughout the year where you're not feeling great or your legs might not be there, but if you do the right things defensively, you can always win games," Hagelin said. "That's what we did tonight. We played well defensively and scored on our chances. That's the type of team we need to be."
After Kessel's goal, Crosby scored at 16:34 to make it a 2-0 going into the second intermission and that opened the floodgates. The Penguins scored three more over the final 20 minutes to turn what had been a tight game into their second straight blowout.
And Malkin, who got this road trip started with a pair of goals in Toronto, finished it with two more here, including this one off an elevated backdoor pass from Daniel Sprong:
Casey DeSmith, who had to be strong in net, particularly early, had the best seat in the house.
"We'd score a goal and I'd skate to the corner and be like, 'Wow!' " DeSmith was telling me. "It's unbelievable some of the plays these guys make. Tonight it was a lot of the likely suspects. Tonight was a treat to watch, just as it was the other night in Calgary."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THREE STARS
My curtain calls goes to …
1. Pittsburgh
2. Pittsburgh
3. Pittsburgh
THE GOOD
On one of the darkest days in Pittsburgh history, the Penguins gave their fans and the city something to cheer about, or at least provide a respite for a few hours. That was not lost on Sullivan:
DeSmith said the shooting was "absolutely" on his mind while playing.
"I'm sure it was the same as everybody else," he said. "It's tragic what happened in Pittsburgh. Not that sports has anything to do with how tragic today was, but anything we can do for the city to help them get through this and stay strong for Pittsburgh was really important for all of us."
When Matt Murray presented his understudy with the gladiator helmet as the star of the game, DeSmith put it best:
"This one is for Pittsburgh, boys." pic.twitter.com/UFy0q4Lb3q
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 28, 2018
• Sprong didn't score a goal, but he was much improved after being a healthy scratch Thursday. His six shots tied Malkin for the team lead. He also saw some shifts on a line with Crosby. It's coming.
• Jack Johnson was a physical presence, throwing an old-school hip check in the first period that tumbled Jake Virtanen. He was involved in scrums and in people's faces all night. That's a big part of what the Penguins want to see from him.
THE BAD
Jake Guentzel drew a four-minute penalty the hard way by getting an Antoine Roussel high stick -- which was actually Dominik Simon's -- to the face just 20 seconds into the third period. However, Kris Letang negated a lot of it by taking an unnecessary tripping penalty on Tyler Motte just 20 seconds into the power play.
Letang had a rough game all around, including a giveaway in the first period that led to an Elias Pettersson breakaway. He also was shaken up by a hard but clean hit from Tim Schaller in the second period. He briefly went back to the dressing room but did return.
Given the level he's played through the first eight games, Letang earns a pass here.
THE PLAY
Crosby has certainly scored some big goals in this building. There's even a banner hanging in the rafters at Rogers Arena to commemorate his Golden Goal:
His first goal on Saturday wasn't quite as historic, but plenty impressive nevertheless. It wasn't just the finish -- another backhander -- either.
Check out the pinpoint passing sequence from Maatta to Guentzel to Simon that led to it:
The best part of the play, from this corner, was Simon's pass to Crosby that he slithered between the skates of Michael Del Zotto. Simon had decent chemistry with Crosby last season.
"It's unreal to play with him," Simon was saying. "He supports you everywhere on the ice."
Think we've moved past Crosby's goal-less drought. He now has five in the past three games.
THE CALL
Common wisdom held that Murray would get the nod in goal. After all, he'd been spectacular in making 38 saves against the Flames on Thursday and afterward he alluded to looking forward to playing against the Canucks.
However, Sullivan had other plans.
In an attempt to better manage Murray's workload with two divisional games against the Islanders coming up next week, Sullivan went with his backup in a nationally televised, Hockey Night in Canada game.
When did Sullivan break the news to DeSmith?
Turns out it was the right call, too. DeSmith stopped all 29 shots, 11 in the first period.
Afterward, the affable New Hampshire native seemed most pleased about receiving the iconic Hockey Night in Canada towel to drape around his neck for a postgame interview with Scott Oake. It was also his first shutout of the season and third of his career.
THE OTHER SIDE
The Canucks can take some solace in knowing that they are hardly alone in losing to the high-powered Penguins. The Canadiens were the last team to beat Pittsburgh in regulation, and that was three weeks ago.
“They’ve got some world-class players who can put the puck in the net if you give them a chance," Green said. "But I think they had eight scoring chances through two periods, and they got three in the last six minutes when we’re chasing the game. I didn’t think it went badly through two periods.”
The brightest spot for the Canucks came in the morning when Pettersson and Brock Boeser, Vancouver's two young standouts, were cleared to return from their respective injuries.
The Canucks finished the season series with a split, thanks to their 3-2 OT win at PPG Paints Arena on Oct. 13. After recording just 73 points last year, fourth-fewest in the NHL, they again don't figure to be a playoff team. Saturday only served as another reminder.
"Their goals speak for themselves," Bo Horvat said of the Penguins. "The way they move the puck and find each other out there, everyone's constantly moving in the O-zone. It's tough to defend."
THE INJURIES
• Derick Brassard, left winger, sat out his first game this season with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day, according to Sullivan. "It's been something that he's been dealing with for a few games," the coach said Saturday morning.
• Kris Letang, defenseman, left the ice for a few minutes after a first-period check by the Canucks' Tim Schaller, but he returned and finished the game.
• Justin Schultz, defenseman, (fractured left leg) is out four months.
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins are off Sunday as they travel back to Pittsburgh following their 12-day road trip through Canada. They will practice Monday at noon at the Lemieux Sports Complex. Dejan Kovacevic will have your coverage.
THE COVERAGE
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