SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Kris Letang was not going to be denied.
Not midway through the first period and certainly not as he made his way out of the Penguins' dressing room Tuesday night. With an equipment bag slung over one shoulder, Letang squeezed his way through the horde of media to make his escape from the SAP Center.
Much like Sidney Crosby, who walked out before him, the steely expression on Letang's face told the story. Clearly, he was in no mood to talk about something trivial, as it turned out, after a one-sided 5-2 loss to the Sharks.
That, however, does not take away the brilliance of his 11th goal of the season. If you haven't seen it, here it is in all its splendor:
Chances are you'll be seeing it in Letang highlight videos for years to come.
With 9:53 elapsed on the clock, Letang carried the puck from the right face-off circle in his own end and raced up the middle of the ice. First, with a burst of speed he beat a flat-footed Barclay Goodrow. Then, moving the puck to his backhand he got around Erik Karlsson, who may have won the Norris twice but is indifferent defensively. Finally, Letang delivered the coup de grace, launching a 19-foot backhander from the left circle that beat Martin Jones high to the glove side.
It was the 107th goal of Letang's career and it might have been the prettiest of them all, encapsulating everything about Letang's offensive skill set, but mostly his skating ability. Even at the not-so-young-anymore age of 31, Letang can still wheel with the best of them and still make it somehow look effortless.
Oh, his Paul Coffey-esque goal also leaves him just one behind the Hall of Famer for the franchise record among defensemen. Letang already owns the team marks for assists and points.
Surely, it was no surprise that Letang might have a little something special in store on Tuesday. As much as it was a game between two potential Cup contenders, it was a clash of the titans on defense with three Norris Trophy-worthy candidates on display between Letang, Karlsson and Brent Burns.
Though the Penguins lost convincingly, Letang certainly made a fairly compelling case for himself not only with his goal, but also his play. Consider this, while fellow franchise cornerstones Crosby (minus-2), Phil Kessel (minus-3), Evgeni Malkin (minus-3) and Jake Guentzel (minus-2) were in the red, Letang was at least even. And that was while playing 26:10, second to only Burns, who logged 28:50.
It was somehow poetic that Letang's masterpiece goal came here in San Jose. It was at the SAP Center that Letang scored the game-winning goal in Game 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, giving the Penguins their fourth championship and Letang his second. That spring and that series against the Sharks, when he had points in five of the six games, may have been the best hockey that Letang has played in his career.
A neck injury that required surgery came the following spring, ending his season and making him a spectator for the Penguins' successful title defense. It also severely limited his ability in 2017-18, when he was mired in inconsistency.
However, this season has been a rebirth of sorts for Letang, who is now sixth in points (39) and third in goals among all defensemen. He is not only in the Norris Trophy conversation, but he will also be making a return trip to San Jose next weekend for the All-Star game.