WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Mike Sullivan can't stand it when someone broaches the subject of the Penguins' speed, if only because that only occurs in a sour context these days. And within that, it bites at the bigger bravado of skating, which is, of course, the very essence of hockey.
Well, wonderful. Let's see all that put to smart use again.
Remember that last trip across the border?
Leading into that one, the boys were flailing a bit. But they were about about to take off for Toronto amid some characteristic over-the-top hype for the Maple Leafs' start and that of Auston Matthews in particular. Right after that, they'd be bound for Edmonton and Connor McDavid. And at all points in between, Sullivan, Sidney Crosby and everyone else was being besieged by questions about who was the real best player in the NHL.
The captain, as ever, was diplomatic, to a fault, in conceding that McDavid.
The coach, as ever, was indignant that his accomplished team should have to account for such stuff anywhere but on the ice.
Which they did. Handsomely. Swept all four games across Canada. Outscored their opponents, 23-6. And Crosby outshone Matthews, McDavid and anyone else who dared to share the surface with him:
So don't think it was coincidence that Sullivan spoke the following Monday upon embarking for this two-day, two-game trip here to Manitoba's capital to face the 13-7-2 Jets tonight, then down to Denver to face the 13-6-4 Avalanche tomorrow: "Both teams are going to be a huge test. They're two of the best teams in the league. They're deep. They're balanced. And they have a dynamic offense. So from a defensive standpoint, our team will, for sure, be tested. But if we do play the game the right way -- and I certainly think we've trended in that direction -- I think we can play with anyone. We've got players in our locker room who are pretty dynamic, as well."
Oh, you bet. But the reverse might be even more true this time.
Quick, pick the best young player in the NHL: McDavid or Matthews?
My answer: Quite possibly neither.
No, I’m being completely serious. Because for as outstanding as McDavid’s been in taking the past two scoring titles, and for all the fanfare Matthews gets for playing in Toronto, still the capital of the continental hockey media, these two things that hold very true:
1. The league’s leading goal-scorer is the Jets' Patrik Laine, with 19.
2. The league’s leading scorer is the Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen, with 38 points.
We’re now more than a quarter of the way through the 2018-19 season, so this isn’t a small sample and, given the way these two have performed to date, plus the potential that’s still ahead — Laine is 20, Rantanen 22 — who’s to say they won’t be the ones?
Laine, in particular, gets praise in the Penguins' world that's uncommon for any opponent, almost entirely because of a shot release that -- remarkably -- can be straight-faced compared to Alexander Ovechkin's.
"There are so many great young players around the league, like everywhere you look," Jake Guentzel was telling me, and he's a 24-year-old fresh off his own hat trick. "I think that's great for the game. It's exciting to see guys come in and do well, show their speed and skill. But that guy ..."
That guy being Laine ...
" ... that guy's got a release that's just unbelievable. It's hard to even describe."
Or see.
"With his shot ... he's well aware of the shot he has. He uses it," Crosby was saying. "He's got great hands."
It's almost magical at times. Laine's ability to rifle from distance, almost always without settling the puck, is already unparalleled in the league. Nobody grips-and-rips like Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos, of course, but I'm talking about a wrist shot, a flick, that's on the blade for barely a split-second.
Laine's 16 goals in November are the most for any NHL player in this month since Mario Lemieux's 17 in 1996. And speaking of Mario-esque material, his five goals Sunday in St. Louis came on ... my God, five shots:
Let's have a look at all FIVE of @PatrikLaine29 goals from TONIGHT!
?????#GoJetsGo | #WPGvsSTL pic.twitter.com/9gz7uKmYL0
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) November 25, 2018
And hey, I'm not seeing a lot of current players on this list:
Patrik Laine, who will celebrate his 21st birthday on April 19, 2019, now sits one goal shy of 100 in his NHL career (177 GP).
Only six players in NHL history have hit the mark before age 21. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/NuEUI35TX0
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 25, 2018
After practice here yesterday, Laine was asked about the stars headed his way:
"It's Pittsburgh. Great team. Superstars," he said. "We like challenges, and they're a huge one."
This is good. All of it. Let the Penguins talk about this.
Let them, in turn, get asked a bunch of questions this morning at Bell MTS Place about who's better at this or that. Because that, as veterans confessed throughout that previous Canada trip, emboldened and focused this group in a way that nothing else has, before or since. "It really pushed our buttons," one of those players told me in Calgary. No hockey player likes hearing he's slow. Or that a child's passing them by.
A sequel to that whole scene would be immensely welcome.
* Not to unfairly compare young players of very different pedigrees, but discussions like these are the primary reason I don’t get all bent out of shape about Daniel Sprong’s usage. If he’s a top-six forward, he needs to show it. He can’t have it handed to him because of some nebulous let’s-see-the-kid-play sentiment. Go out and earn it.
• Still not taking seriously that Laine or even Rantanen could outrank McDavid?
Look, I'm not, either, at least not at the moment. But things change over time. And never forget that, for as much hockey itself changes, there's never been anything more valuable in the sport than scoring a goal.
• Losing Patric Hornqvist for even a shift hurts. But losing him indefinitely to a concussion hurts so much more on a night like this. The Jets can still be as bruising as any team in the NHL, and sending Guentzel out to duel with Dustin Byfuglien near the paint just doesn't ring right.
• Remember how Ron Francis was declared the most under-appreciated player in hockey for the better part of his career?
Using that term with its precise intent, that designation currently might well belong to not one but two Jets: Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. They're point-a-game stars employed in the smallest, most remote market in professional sports, but they're stars nonetheless. And each a treat to watch.
• Should Casey DeSmith get the nod tonight -- and he probably should, coming off a sound effort against the Blue Jackets, a similarly styled opponent -- he'll undoubtedly have flashes back to his NHL debut here 13 months ago. He entered in relief of a barraged Matt Murray and gave up three goals on 15 shots in a 7-1 loss.
Oh, and he smiled in the postgame interview sessions. I've reminded him of this probably only about a billion times since.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” DeSmith came back at one of my latest. “I’m just a naturally happy person, I think, which probably explains the Winnipeg thing."
• Please tell me no rational person doubts the validity of Murray's injury.
Never mind the caliber of the human involved. Or that no one involved in any such charade would gain a thing, since this isn't baseball, and there aren't disabled lists.
Here's what's going to become known before long: Murray's got a bone fracture of some sort, likely in the foot. Athletes think they're just going through routine pain, they try to tough it out and, when the pain doesn't subside, they finally break down and seek help. An X-ray shows the fracture and, however slight, that fracture can only heal with rest.
Bank on this.
• The Flyers firing Ron Hextall is the best thing that'll happen to the Penguins inside the Metro this winter. Long-range, anyway.
Hextall wasn't making the major moves many Philly fans wanted -- and they probably deserved at least one in his five years -- but he also built up a shattered minor-league system, moved the parent club away from thuggery and into the modern possession game and ... yeah, OK, he needed to suit up and play, too. Because the real weigh-down for that franchise the past three decades has been not having a single goaltender worth a Kate Smith belch since Hextall himself was between the pipes.
I know, I know, here's your hanky.
• Too bad Ken Hitchcock's already been snapped up, huh?
Just in case anyone still wonders if McDavid was being authentic with that dour expression the moment the Oilers drafted him:
Vid: broadcast of McDavid's face NBC runs w interview of #Oilers Assist. GM after news of draft lotto win #yeg pic.twitter.com/1Pmt9540Sn
— Edmonton Sun (@Edmontonsun) April 19, 2015
He knew.
• Hate to see Carl Hagelin go down, as he just did for the Kings, four to six weeks with a sprained knee ligament. For a 30-year-old who relies solely on speed, in a contract year to boot, that's a tough break.
Don't presume it would have happened in Pittsburgh, obviously. In fact, it wouldn't be fair to connect any injury to any trade.
That said, Jim Rutherford's done well here to date, if only for what Tanner Pearson's brought. He's a smart, skilled winger with a nose for the net and a hunger to get back to what he's always been. Really like what I've seen and heard, on and off the ice.
• Funny, but it's cold enough here -- minus-4 overnight -- that liquid pretty much freezes upon hitting pavement. And yet, right outside the Jets' arena, it was a common sight to see folks walking without jackets, biking without caps. Takes a different spirit. Really does.
Be sure that all concerned will want to know if Crosby walks from the team hotel several blocks away, as he's done here in the past. He's explained, somewhat in jest, that he wants to put his Nova Scotian blood to the test.
• Weather aside, this is going to be a tumultuous trip for your favorite club. I'm not big on predictions, but the Jets have two regulation losses in their past 21 regular-season home games, including 8-2-2 this season. This building isn't as loud as it was when the franchise returned -- only a Kiss concert could be -- but it's still savage. And then playing in the mile-high altitude one night later ... let's just say three of four points would be damned impressive.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins at Jets morning skate, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Nov. 27, 2018 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS