"It takes everyone," Marcus Pettersson was telling me the other night at PPG Paints Arena. "Everyone in here."
He could've included people outside the locker room, as well.
Because let's be real: These insanely improbable Penguins, flying high at 25-12-5 despite being dragged down a quarter of the roster and a third of their salary cap lost to injuries, aren't doing this solely through Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Tristan Jarry, Brandon Tanev and a handful of others, not least of whom is not-to-be-forgotten Jake Guentzel.
It's been a nearly complete contribution, maybe unlike any we've seen since Cups were last raised.
In that spirit, then, let's open this week's Takes with a handful of unsung heroes along the way:
Teddy Blueger: Forget the five goals and eight assists, including a couple huge ones in the past week.
Get this: He's begun 136 even-strength shifts in the defensive zone, 18 more than anyone else on the roster, and nothing could illustrate more strongly Mike Sullivan's faith in him. When times are toughest, Blueger's been first over the boards. And in spite of that territorial disadvantage -- one that usually crushes a forward's possession metrics -- he's somehow been on the ice for 83 high-danger chances for the Penguins, compared to 67 against.
I never doubted Blueger's modest but real offensive potential, going back to his time as a prospect. But I never envisioned this level of defense from him.
"Teddy's done everything we've asked," Mark Recchi told me, and he's worked more with Blueger than anyone for years. "He's a total player."
Jacques Martin: Sullivan's other assistant has had to manage the defensemen in-game on a severely rotating basis at times, constantly short-handed due to injury. But it's his other short-handed work that's really shined.
The surface statistic is that the Penguins' penalty-killing has hovered in the NHL's top 10 all season, currently ninth at 81.3 percent. But dig a bit deeper for the bigger plus: Their 177 minutes, 10 seconds of PK time is the league's second-fewest, with only the Jets being lower. As a result, their 109 shots allowed on the PK is also the league's second-lowest, with Winnipeg at 108.
And that, as the players will attest, is because Martin's main message to all concerned regarding the PK is to avoid the activity.
"The most important thing is to stay out of the box, stay disciplined," as Rust put it. "That's always No. 1 with us."
Juuso Riikola battles for the puck Sunday at PPG Paints Arena. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPSJuuso Riikola: Remember when we all talked about this guy because he was so, so noticeable -- all fired up and flying all over creation -- a couple camps ago?
Funny, but all he does now is skate silently toward real efficiency.
To me, Justin Schultz was a mega-painful Jenga piece to pull out. Not because he'd been great, and certainly not because he's more valuable than Brian Dumoulin. It's that Dumoulin had just been lost just before him, and Schultz doubled the impact.
That burden was going to fall to either Jim Rutherford to make a move he wouldn't want to make, or it'd be picked up by Riikola. And most fortunately for all concerned, it's been the latter: In 20 games, he's got five points, a plus-3 rating but, way more revealing, he's been on the ice for a grand total of three opponents' goals that came from high-danger chances.
Repeating for emphasis: Three of those. In 20 games.
Heck, I'd share with you what he thinks of that, but I hardly ever see him anymore. Keeping a low profile off the ice, too.
Chris Stewart: And yeah, I mean the head athletic trainer. But don't laugh this off.
Sure, the Penguins have been banged up beyond recognition. And anytime that happens, a few fans will focus some ire on those entrusted to maintain the players' health. But if one goes back over each of the Penguins' injuries, it doesn't take a med-school degree to see exactly zero of them were preventable, as is almost always the case. Stewart's rep, as with those of the team doctors, is spotless.
That's not why I mention him here, though. Rather, it's that one never sees 'Stewie,' as he's affectionately known, without a fun smile and a friendly word.
Big deal?
Maybe not to those on the outside, but trust me, it means a ton to those on the inside. I've covered teams when athletic trainers get nervous upon a wave of injuries, and it trickles down. The whole atmosphere gets weighed down. The injuries become the thing. And in this culture, neither Sullivan nor Stewart have allowed that to take root.
Sidney Crosby: Oh, yeah, that guy.
He's hardly unsung, of course. But in this context, with his having been out two months now, I feel like maybe it's easily overlooked that all of this began because the world's greatest player committed full-bore toward rededicating the Penguins to the Sullivan system that won them two championships.
It's amazing to me that, a few days ago in Nashville, I'd asked Jared McCann to pinpoint the source of the Penguins' collective passion for defending and, without hesitation, he replied, "That all starts with Sid. When he does it, everyone knows they've got to do it, that it's the right way to play."
Imagine when he's able to play it again, too.
• It's obviously welcome news for the Penguins that Crosby's on the trip, even if he doesn't play out there. It's a step closer, and it might even occur before the NHL's All-Star break later this month, which I'd always seen as kind of the line of demarcation in that he could've bought himself a few extra days of rehab.
That said, Rust has to stay with Malkin. There's just too much good going on there and, beyond that, Rust's straight-line style is just too perfect with Malkin.
What's that leave for Sid?
Well, Dominik Kahun's become a semi-steady contributor in Crosby's absence, and he's got that cycle-grind-possession thing in his blood, too. From there, I'd add Patric Hornqvist.
• One more to toss into the mix: Sam Lafferty. Kid's got one goal in his past 28 games, but he had three in his first four, if you'll recall that early trip through St. Paul and Winnipeg. And the speed, skill and all else he showed back then -- and for a spell afterward -- was compelling enough that Rutherford's kept him in Pittsburgh throughout.
I mean, why not?
Imagine the upswing if it works.
• No, I didn't forget Kris Letang up top. That's a willful omission, sung or unsung. And it'll remain that way, even amid his more compelling performances, until he goes about convincing everyone he's modifying his game to his age.
• Wow, when's the last time there was no Pittsburgh presence on this list?
Sparing you the research: Beginning with Mario Lemieux's first scoring title in 1988, the Penguins won the Art Ross a phenomenal 15 times in a 26-year span, with Mario at six, Jaromir Jagr at five, Crosby and Malkin with two each. No franchise will ever again achieve anything similar.
• Has Alex Galchenyuk been traded yet, Jim? If not, why not? Also, copy, paste, rinse, repeat.
• The NHL's first half saw goals per game at 6.1, and I'll never stop giving credit to Gary Bettman for the restoration of offense after spending the previous two decades complaining about it. This scoring rate is tied with last season for the second-highest this century. That's as it should be. Skill, speed and comebacks galore. Hockey's fun again.
• This one's nuts, though: 154 games required overtime, meaning nearly a quarter of them at 24.1 percent. And I can't help but wonder if more coaches -- including Sullivan -- won't just casually dismiss the importance of strategy when at three-on-three. That's a lot of points on the line.
• No question the Predators have underachieved, four points out in the West despite some terrific talent, but the firing of Peter Laviolette yesterday still seems misplaced, if not misguided. David Poile, Nashville's GM since Johnny Cash was the Toddler in Black, hamstrung his own roster -- as we just witnessed a few days ago in the home-and-home -- with horrendous goaltending from Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros and their combined .898 save percentage. Firing the head coach over garbage goaltending is scapegoating, plain and simple.
• Nice to be in a hockey town where one can talk Nashville hockey news and not have it feel weird, huh?
• Question: When's the last time you flipped on ESPN and saw anything on there that wasn't NBA-related?
Follow-up question: When's the last time you flipped on ESPN?
Not even asking that as a jab, I swear. It's just that my own viewing habits -- meaning whatever I've got on TV in the background while working -- is almost always one of the three network channels: NFL, NHL or MLB. I mostly just want to get caught up on highlights, and all three of those have figured out that it's not all that complex to give the viewer exactly that without all the snide, snark, silliness and, of course, endless slam dunks.
• Nothing against basketball, mind you. Never, ever. Love the sport.
As I've often written, I enjoy covering Pitt hoops as much as any gig around here, but especially back when the Pete was hopping. Same goes for the extensive international hoops I've covered at the various Olympics, as there's a lot more ball movement. On those rare occasions I'll see some NBA, it looks like just a lot of static tall trees by comparison. I'll flip away within a minute or two.
• Also, Pittsburgh doesn't have a franchise and never will. That's an infinitely bigger factor for me. I'm super-interested in anything that's Pittsburgh and don't have actual time for stuff that isn't.
• Why am I even talking about this?
Trey McGowens tries to penetrate the Wake Forest defense Saturday. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS• Oh, right, because I've been deeply disappointed with the Pitt offense, which lacks imagination and yet, remarkably, is precisely the correct offense for Jeff Capel to assign to this particular group:
1. Get ball to a guard.
2. Guard tries to penetrate.
3. If nothing there, kick out.
There are times where it'll work and, as we've seen, there are times when the Panthers' pluckiness will take care of the rest. But what I found most alarming Saturday in covering the loss to Wake Forest was that there's been little progress over two months beyond hoping that Xavier Johnson and Trey McGowens somehow rise up to some other level.
It isn't happening. Both made abysmal decisions down the stretch, and all Wake had to do -- as Danny Manning acknowledged to us afterward -- was block out those two through the zone and spy on Ryan Murphy to prevent the 3.
I asked Capel about this:
Quality answer there.
This isn't the team that makes the big program-level rebound. I'm saying that respectfully, as it relates to Capel having to dig out from under Kevin Stallings' apathetic mess. There can still be progress, but a true point guard and a post presence remain musts. ACC play will only further expose both.
• Speaking of pros vs. colleges: The NFL needs a new overtime format. Not because the Saints got jobbed -- they're now coronated as the new kings of complaining in professional sports -- but because there's just too much emphasis on the kicking game. Give me plays from scrimmage when deciding something so important, even in the regular season.
The NCAA brand is just fine, I think. Put the ball at the 25, and prioritize touchdowns, not field goals, with each possession. Each team gets a try. Fair as fair gets, and super-entertaining.
Devlin Hodges, Deon Cain, James Washington. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS• Lots of just-for-fun discussion already about the Steelers' greatest offensive needs toward 2020. I'm on record as endorsing a running back for the top pick and a tight end not named Vance McDonald through any other means.
But why not also looking into a field-stretching receiver?
I know, it's as if that never needed to cross anyone's mind since September, right?
Well, presuming Ben Roethlisberger's back, it's always been his priority to have such a target, even if only to open underneath routes. JuJu Smith-Schuster's made his share of such plays, and James Washington's eminently capable of the deep-heave combat catch. But I'm talking about a burner, a straight-line X in the sand.
OK, what about Deon Cain?
He's 23, he's 6-2, and he runs a 4.4 in the 40. Coming out of Clemson, he was all vertical, and all that's held him back have been injuries. But if he's fine and he's already here and comes cheap, seems like that might be a more attractive option while applying cap space elsewhere.
I asked Cain at the locker cleanout last week if he can go vertical here, too.
"Of course because that's always been my game," he answered. "But I also consider myself more of a complete receiver. I don't want to just be that guy. I want to keep improving."
Fine, but this would be Ben behind center.
"Oh, I know. I get it. I've been watching him for years, and I know how he can get it out there. I can't wait to see how we could connect."
• All I want this NFL offseason is for the Browns to sign Antonio Brown,. And it sure feels greedy ... and gloriously possible.
• Of the eight teams remaining in the playoffs, seven weren't in the final eight a year ago, with only the Chiefs as holdovers. One of the many beauties within a cap league.
• Standing by Kansas City to win it all, by the way ... right up until someone reminds me that Andy Reid's still standing on that sideline.
• There's a month and three days until the Pirates' pitchers and catchers report to Bradenton, and there still hasn't been anything approaching a meaningful move by Ben Cherington. I'm not a believer that 2020 is a critical year for the big-league club, and I'm hardly the alarmist type when it comes to Major League Baseball's free-agency period. But that was November, this is January, there remain real needs -- starting pitcher, middle relief, a for-real catcher, more -- and nothing is nothing.
• More than anything, I'm eager to see what Cherington winds up culling for Starling Marte. In part, obviously, for the return. But also because it'll be the first glaringly tangible sign of the direction that'll be taken.
• There's no one on the roster I wouldn't trade except Bryan Reynolds and Mitch Keller if it meant top pitching prospects were coming back. Not to put Keller in a class with Reynolds, but Keller already fits the bill of what needs to be added, so moving him would be silly.
• For those who, like our family and all our Serbian friends, celebrate Orthodox Christmas, I wish you the very happiest, healthiest holiday.
