It used to be that Ron Francis was widely considered the "most underrated" player in the NHL.
The idea was always sort of laughable since Francis played the fourth-most games in league history and is its fifth all-time leading scorer. The rep on Francis was that he spent the prime of his career plying his craft in Hartford and then came to Pittsburgh where he was well below Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr on the marquee.
Well, these days it's Florida's Aleksander Barkov who seems to be the player that's most often labeled as "underrated." However, that's hardly the case in the Penguins' dressing room or the 29 others around the league.
Though the 23-year-old might play in relative anonymity in sunny South Florida, where the Panthers average just 13,074 fans per home game, Barkov is a star. He posted 78 points last season and is considered one of the game's best 200-foot centers, in the mold of a Patrice Bergeron.
Ask Olli Maatta. The fellow Finn was teammates with Barkov as teenagers in the 2014 Olympics and again in the 2017 World Cup.
"He plays on one of the not really big market teams, but he's definitely an elite player in our league," Maatta was telling me. "He can really do special things out there."
The Penguins will get their first look at Barkov this season when they host the Panthers tonight at PPG Paints Arena. They can only hope it goes better than their last. Barkov put up three assists in a 6-5 win at BB&T Center on Feb. 24. In 14 carer games against Pittsburgh, he has 10 points (three goals, seven assists).
At better than a point per game this season (16 goals, 26 assists in 40 games), Barkov is on pace for a career year. The 6-foot-3, 213-pound center is exceptional down low and around the net. Because of that, the Panthers center will present a sizable challenge again tonight.
"He's got real good size, we're going to have to make sure (about) our stick detail and we're using our quickness in defending against him down below the hashmarks, that's where a guy as big and strong as him can present a challenge," Mike Sullivan said when I asked. "We don't have the biggest, strongest defense corps or team, but what we do have is guys that are mobile, that have good sticks and can use their anticipation skills and our strengths to try and defend. He's a real good player and they're a good team."
After missing the playoffs by just a point in 2017-18, the Panthers have been one of the NHL's bigger disappointments this season. At 17-16-7, they are nine points out of the final wildcard spot and tonight's game in Pittsburgh is the first of a five-game make-or-break road trip.
"That's just how the league is, it's such a fine line between winning and losing any given night," Bryan Rust was saying. "Some teams might be doing a little better than others but when you look around the league, they're a real good team with a good lineup. This is going to be a test."
The Panthers will be without Pittsburgh native Vincent Trocheck (see below), but they still have the league's third-ranked power play (27.8) that features Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Keith Yandle and Evgenii Dadonov, who scored a hat trick against the Penguins last season in Sunrise, along with newcomer Mike Hoffman, who leads the Panthers with 20 goals.
Of course, what counts as "underrated" is subjective.
Tanner Pearson and Jack Johnson, who spent large portions of their careers with the Los Angeles Kings, believe that there are many Western Conference players who don't always get the recognition they deserve. Pearson said that former teammate Anze Kopitar is the most underrated. Rust says that teammates Kris Letang and Phil Kessel don't get enough attention.
It's all in one's perspective.
"That's a tough question," said Riley Sheahan. "Look around the league. If they're skilled and regarded as underrated, I feel like they're still prominent players."
THE ESSENTIALS
THE INJURIES
• Penguins: Justin Schultz, defenseman, is out until mid-February with a fractured leg suffered Oct. 13 at Montreal. Schultz has begun skating on his own and is considered week-to-week.
• Panthers: Nick Bjugstad, center, is out with an upper body injury suffered Dec. 6. He is traveling with the team and skated Tuesday. He is expected to return during the Panthers' road trip. ... Trocheck, forward, has been out since Nov. 11 with a fractured ankle but is progressing ahead of schedule and is skating. He could return soon after the All-Star break.
THE SKATE
• Matt Murray, who is 7-0 since returning from a lower body injury, will get the start in net. In that Feb. 24 game last season against the Panthers, a night after starting in Carolina, Murray took the loss after replacing Tristan Jarry in the middle of the second period. Murray gave up two goals on 14 shots. Two days later, he suffered a concussion in practice and never quite returned to form.
Sullivan said on Tuesday that he is not trying to lessen the workload on Murray this season due to fear of injury. With four games this week, it's more a case of managing minutes and making sure both Murray and Casey DeSmith, who started and lost Sunday vs. Chicago, can stay fresh.
"We're trying to manage the workload of both guys where they both have the ability to have success when they get in the net," Sullivan said.
• You know Steelers season is officially over when ... you see a lot more TV cameras at PPG Paints Arena for a Tuesday skate. That time is usually reserved for Mike Tomlin's press conferences. Though the Penguins are the only team in town until opening day of the Pirates' season, Sullivan said that there's no added pressure on his team.
"Any media scrutiny outside of our dressing room really doesn't have an impact on what we do on a day-to-day basis," Sullivan said.
• The Penguins held an optional morning skate. Among those participating was Sidney Crosby. Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Phil Kessel and Brian Dumoulin did not take the ice.
• As much as Sullivan has to prepare for the Panthers, he joked that he also has to be prepared for AT&T Sports Net's Dan Potash. With it being "'70's Night" at PPG Paints Arenea, there's a strong chance that Potash will likely break out a leisure suit or something outlandish. Sullivan admitted that sometimes it's hard for him to keep a straight face during his pre-game interviews when Potash is wearing, say, a Batman costume for "Superheroes Night."
"Sometimes it's a challenge," Sullivan said with a smile.
THE OTHER SIDE
• During his rough and tumble playing career, Bob Boughner amassed 1,382 penalty minutes, 216 of them as a Penguins defenseman between 1999 and 2001. His Panthers have the NHL's 17th-ranked penalty kill and, as their coach, he knows they can't take too many penalties against a Penguins power play that ranks sixth in the league and had been on fire before going 0-for-3 Sunday night against the Blackhawks.
“The main thing for us tonight is managing our game, managing the puck and the matchups as best we can and being disciplined," Boughner said. "We need to make sure this game is played at 5-on-5.”
• Boughner said that Roberto Luongo will be back in goal for the Panthers. The 39-year-old has lost three of his last five games, including his most recent start. He gave up four goals on 33 shots in a 4-3 loss to Buffalo on Jan. 3.
• After holding a full practice Monday in South Florida, the Panthers held an optional skate that was fairly well attended.
• Defenseman Ian McCoshen was recalled Monday from Springfield as Chris Wideman was loaned to the AHL affiliate. McCoshen, who appeared in 38 games last season with the Panthers, will not make his season debut tonight.
THE COMBINATIONS
• An educated guess at the Penguins' lines and pairings based off Monday's practice:
Guentzel—Crosby—Rust
Simon—Malkin—Hornqvist
Pearson—Brassard—Kessel
Aston-Reese–Cullen—Sheahan
Dumoulin—Letang
Pettersson—Johnson
Maatta—Riikola
• And for the Panthers:
Huberdeau—Barkov—Dadonov
Vatrano—Borgstrom—Hoffman
Brouwer—McCann—Malgin
Hawryluk—Lammikko—Sceviour
Yandle—Ekblad
Mattheson—Psyk
Kiselvich—Weegar
THE SCHEDULE
Faceoff is at 7:08 p.m. tonight at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins will travel to Anaheim on Wednesday where they will practice on Thursday and face the Ducks the following night in the first of a season-long, 11-day, five-game road trip that will stop in Los Angeles, San Jose, Arizona and Vegas. Following their bye-week and the All-Star break, the Penguins will not play at home again until Jan. 28 vs. the Devils.
THE COVERAGE
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