NEW YORK -- Logistically, the Penguins' just concluded road trip was a bit unorthodox. It started down south in Raleigh, then made pit stops in Nashville and Dallas. Finally, it ended Monday night amid the bright lights of the big city in Midtown Manhattan.
"We've covered quite a bit of distance here," Bryan Rust was saying before the Penguins' 5-2 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
He was speaking, of course, about the circuitous travel route. But he could have been speaking of his team's journey. It wasn't quite the beaten path. There were a pair of blown late leads. There was yet another injury, this one to Kris Letang, and there was a two-goal deficit to overcome on Monday.
But the overarching fact is this: The Penguins took seven out of a possible eight points on this four-game trip to move within a point of the first-place Capitals in the Metropolitan Division. Realistically, they could still finish anywhere from first to third but where they might be seeded is almost secondary. Because what the Penguins have done over the last six days and 3,038 miles, could potentially be more consequential.
"I think it was a great road trip from our standpoint, but I think we still have to continue to climb and try and get better and see where it takes us," Mike Sullivan said when I asked for his assessment of the trip. "By no means are we satisfied with where we're at. We're going to try and win every game, but I really like how our team is trending. We're playing hard. I think we're playing together. I think we're becoming a team."
Just a reminder that this was a team, not that long ago, that many were starting to question whether they were even going to qualify for the postseason. However, they've answered most -- not all -- of those questions over the last month and on this trip (3-0-1), in particular. And they've done it all while dealing with adversity along the way, the latest being an upper-body injury to Letang, who joined Evgeni Malkin on the shelf.
On Monday, the Penguins were faced with some self-inflicted adversity, handing an inferior Rangers team an early two-goal lead but, to their credit, the Penguins reeled off five unanswered goals to win. That made it their most prolific evening since putting up a five-spot on the Sabres on March 14.
Most encouraging, however, were the ways in which they scored, who scored them, and also who didn't.
Because as sweet as Sidney Crosby's pass was from behind the Rangers' net to set up Justin Schultz's one-timer at the point for a power-play goal just 61 seconds into the second period, that was the only point that the captain recorded. That was one more than Jake Guentzel. And still the Penguins came away with a victory.
They scored on the power play, short-handed and thrice at even strength. Those even-strength goals came from second-liner Teddy Blueger, third-liner Nick Bjugstad and fourth-liner Matt Cullen.
That is called secondary scoring, folks. And that, really, is the biggest impediment standing between the Penguins and legit Cup contention. It's certainly not Matt Murray. He was solid yet again, stopping 33 of 35 shots. He didn't even have to sweat this one out.
"It's essential to win games, especially this time of year," Sullivan said of the depth scoring. "You've got to get contributions throughout your lineup and we're getting it now. We're getting it from different guys. We're getting it from different aspects of our team concept, whether it be a short-handed goal or power-play goal. Guys are stepping up and making big plays at key times for us."
Blueger, one of those guys stepping up Monday, says the Penguins can't be a one-line team:
Two nights after Jared McCann played the hero in Dallas with a 5v5 and shorthanded goal, it was Blueger's turn in the Big Apple. The second-line center in Malkin's absence recorded his first multi-goal game of his 23-game NHL career:
He scored his first short-handed at 13:12 of the second after initially failing to connect on a 2-on-1 with Rust but his "stick-to-it-ive-ness" -- as Sullivan calls it -- paid off with a backhander past Alexandar Georgiev.
Blueger got his second at 7:38 of the the third when he first dragged his skate blade along the blueline to keep the play onside and then crashed the net and deposited the rebound of McCann's shot past Georgiev to give the Penguins a three-goal margin of victory. Not bad for a guy who everyone had pegged as a bottom-six guy, eh?
"I think when I first got to Wilkes, I was maybe labeled too much as a defensive guy and a grinder," Blueger said. "Obviously, last couple years down there I was able to show that I can score. Just because I've got more defensive responsibilities right now doesn't mean I can't score. Obviously, it's good to contribute and do your job. It was a big win for us."
A big win to cap an impressive trip, but there's still another level the Penguins know they will need to get to.
"We're still getting there," Bjugstad was telling me. "We still have things to get better at. We had a rocky start here tonight but held our composure. I think these last (five) games left, it's important to have some momentum and some confidence going into the playoffs."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THREE STARS
My curtain calls go to …
1. Teddy Blueger
Penguins center
It might have been his first multi-goal game but I don't think it's going to be his last.
2. Matt Cullen
Penguins center
Somebody on the fourth line had to get a star, right? So we'll give it to the veteran (See The Good).
3. Matt Murray
Penguins goaltender
Made his 15th start in the last 16 games and was unflappable from start to finish.
THE GOOD
How long has it been since the Penguins' fourth-line scored a goal? The guy who scored it hasn't been on the team in nearly two months. Spoiler alert: It was Riley Sheahan against the Lightning on Jan. 30. That was 52 days ago.
But that changed at 7:17 of the second period when Cullen scored his sixth of the season and first in 27 games. It was actually quite the snipe, too:
It started with Garrett Wilson cycling the puck down low and Cullen, with no defenders on him, skating out of the corner to the right circle where he pinpointed a sharp wrister that beat Georgiev high to the short side.
It was a goal-scorer's goal but, at this point, that line would have gladly taken a greasy one. It was Wilson's first point since Feb. 9. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Adam Johnson picked up a secondary assist. He is yet to earn a point but Johnson's been good in limited action — he had two takeaways in 5:33 on Monday. The Cullen line registered a 75.00 Corsi For percentage with three scoring chances for and zero against.
Cullen did not speak to reporters afterward, which is even rarer than him scoring lately. But after 1,511 games in the league, we'll cut him some slack.
THE BAD
For everything the Penguins did right on their first power-play chance, resulting in Schultz's goal, they did the opposite on their second. They had zero shots and the best thing you could say about it was that they didn't surrender another short-handed goal. But they did try.
This was Phil Kessel looking all kinds of out of sorts on this one:
First, he had an awkward stumble coming out of his zone and then he tried, unsuccessfully, to backhand the puck into neutral ice. Then, when he did get the puck back, it just rolled off his stick as he crossed the blue line. Yeesh.
Despite that poor shift, Kessel did have two assists and now has four points in the last two games. So, there is something to be said for that. But he has also now gone 27 games without a goal at 5v5, while Patric Hornqvist has gone 31. On Thursday, they combined for just three shot attempts on Georgiev. Imagine how good this team could really be if those two ever start rolling.
THE PLAY
Sullivan called Bjugstad's goal at 15:41 of the first period "huge." Not only did it cut the Rangers' lead in half, it opened up the floodgates. The third line of Dominik Simon, Hornqvist and Bjugstad have been plenty good in terms of puck possession and generating chances, but they hadn't been able to capitalize on any of them over the last five games.
Naturally, they got a "chippy" goal when Georgiev couldn't control the rebound on Marcus Pettersson's point shot. The puck came right out to Bjugstad, who, from the right dot, swatted in his 12th of the season. That ended the center's five-game drought, which had been the longest of his short Penguins tenure:
"Finally, it goes in," Bjugstad was telling me. "Just how it goes. Just keep pounding away and it's got to go in sometime. Kind of a chippy one, a rebound goal. It all started with Hornqvist and Simon in the corners. When you're playing with those guys, it's fun to play in the offensive zone. They create. We all kind of support each other."
THE CALL
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree in life or in hockey. For 21 seasons, Claude Lemieux was one of the NHL's most polarizing figures. He was a 40-goal scorer and an agitator extraordinaire. His son, the Rangers' Brendan Lemieux, acquired from the Jets at the deadline in the Kevin Hayes trade, isn't much different.
Clearly, the younger Lemieux has talent. He was the 31st overall pick in 2015. But he also has a penchant for embellishing penalties like his old man. He drew a hook on Pettersson that led to Vinni Lettieri's power play goal at 15:15 of the first. Then, he drew a questionable holding call on Jack Johnson after going down a little too easy:
However, Lemieux had nothing on Anthony DeAngelo. With seven minutes remaining in the second period, the Rangers defenseman delivered what appeared to be a deliberate shoulder to the head of McCann, who was blindsided on the hit:
Somehow, McCann stayed in the game after having his head snapped violently backward. More amazingly, the play happened right in front of Pierre Lambert, who called nothing. But one would have to think that the NHL's Department of Player Safety is going to look into this, right? We shall see.
Keep in mind that the Penguins close out the regular season on April 6 against the Rangers at PPG Paints Arena.
THE OTHER SIDE
The Rangers entered Monday having lost five of their previous six with their lone win coming Saturday night in Toronto. The Rangers were able to carry that momentum from the Maple Leafs game for about 10 minutes of the first period. After that, the Blueshirts' youth and inexperience was evident and the outcome predictable.
“We weren’t able to sustain the good things we did in the first,” said head coach David Quinn, whose team has been held to two or fewer goals in 11 of the past 12 games. “Not building momentum off the 2-0 lead was part of the issue. And then when they tied it so quickly early in the second, that seemed to deflate us. We never got back on track.”
The Rangers, who are in the midst of a rebuild, were without the services of Chris Kreider and Marc Staal due to injury and illness, respectively. They are two of the remaining veterans from New York's run of four consecutive playoff appearances from 2012-15. The Rangers have been officially eliminated and will sit out the postseason for the second straight year. Between the Rangers and Knicks, it's going to be a quiet spring at the Garden.
THE DATA
• Erik Gudbranson's 37.14 Corsi For percentage was the lowest among all Penguins.
• In addition to his huge goal, Bjugstad won 73 percent of his faceoffs.
• The Penguins have now scored four-plus goals in eight of their last 11 vs. the Rangers.
• With their win, the Penguins are 5-1-1 in their last seven against New York, and they have points in nine of their last 10 at the Garden.
• The Rangers are currently the youngest team in the NHL with an average age of 25.7 years old.
THE INJURIES
• Kris Letang, defenseman, missed his first game with a new upper-body injury. He is day-day, according to Sullivan.
• Evgeni Malkin, center, missed his fifth game with an apparent rib injury and is expected to miss another week or so. He's been skating on his own back at the Lemieux Complex but did not take the ice on Monday, according to Sullivan.
• Olli Maatta, defenseman, has been out since Feb. 11 with a separated left shoulder but appears to be close to returning.
• Zach Aston-Reese, forward, missed his eighth game with a hip injury and is considered to be out longer-term.
• Chad Ruhwedel, defenseman, missed his 14th game with an upper-body injury and is also considered to be out longer-term.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
McCann-Blueger-Kessel
Simon-Bjugstad-Hornqvist
Johnson-Cullen-Wilson
Dumoulin-Trotman
Johnson-Schultz
Pettersson-Gudbranson
• And for Quinn's Rangers:
Lemieux-Zibanejad-Buchnevich
Vesey-Andersson-Strome
Namestnikov-Lettieri-Chytil
Nieves-Howden-Smith
Claesson-DeAngelo
Skjei-Shattenkirk
Gilmour-Pionk
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will practice today at noon in Cranberry. Taylor Haase will have your coverage. The Penguins will return to game action Friday night when they host the Nashville Predators at 7:08 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.
THE COVERAGE
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