Before Jared McCann suffered a lower-body injury on Feb. 6 on Long Island, he had recorded two goals and three assists through 11 games.
Not bad, scoring at a rate of nearly half a point per game.
Since McCann has returned from injury on Feb. 27, though, he's elevated his game.
In his five games since returning, McCann has scored more three goals and an assist, beating his goal production and falling a point shy of his overall production from his first 11 games.
The biggest goal through either of those stretches was undoubtedly the game-winner in Saturday afternoon's matchup with the Flyers at PPG Paints Arena, capping off the three-game series with a 4-3 win and two more crucial points in the standings.
Midway through the third period, McCann and Evgeni Malkin skated through the Flyers' zone on a two-on-two rush. Malkin made a drop pass to McCann, who then passed it to Brandon Tanev as Tanev flew up the left wing. Tanev threw the puck at the net from the left of the cage as McCann trailed him. Brian Elliott made the first save, and McCann buried the rebound:
McCann wasn't one of the players available to speak on the postgame WebEx call with the media on Saturday, but he spoke on on the AT&T SportsNet broadcast after the game and was asked about the little somersault he did after the goal. He clarified that it wasn't just for the added flair.
"You know, I was on my way down anyway and didn't really want to land on my face again like I did in the boards," he laughed. "I just thought I'd tuck and roll."
The faceplant he's referring to was in the previous game, when he scored the third of the Penguins' three goals in the loss:
Since McCann has returned from injury, he's been shooting the puck more. He registered 17 shots in his first 11 games, a rate of 1.55 shots per game. Since returning he's taken 11 shots in five games, a rate of 2.2 shots per game.
Part of that is due to his elevated role since returning -- he's playing on the second line alongside Evgeni Malkin and Kasperi Kapanen, since Jason Zucker was lost to a long-term lower-body injury. He's not only playing with better linemates, he's playing more minutes, going from an average of about 12 minutes per game to now about 15 minutes per game.
"I've just been given the opportunity to be in the top-six right now," McCann said on the broadcast. "I'm taking full advantage of it. Geno and Kappy are easy guys to play with, they're great linemates, we have some good chemistry together."
Teammates also attribute McCann's hot streak to some added confidence.
"Jared's a great player," Tanev said. "He's got a knack for the net. He's got a tremendous shot, and I think he's got great confidence right now. He's feeling the puck, he's shooting the puck well. ... He's playing the right way, he's playing a full 200-foot game, he's being a great teammate, and it's showing out there and he's getting rewarded."
"He's feeling confident," Bryan Rust added. "You can see it in his game. He's using his skating ability to his advantage, whether it's getting loose pucks, getting in on the forecheck, trying to find that open space. You saw it on his goal there, he just used his skating to get to that rebound and put it in."
Mike Sullivan credits McCann's success to the details in his game that are allowing him to get in positions to find more offense.
"Jared's playing a solid game right now," he said. "We've always known that he has the ability to finish. He's got a good shot, he can find the back of the net. It's more about playing the game a certain way that gives him the opportunities to get the looks. Usually, if he can get the looks, he's going to score. I think he's trying to do the little things out there. He brings good speed. I think his wall play has improved, he's getting himself to the areas of the rink where he needs to to get the looks. As a result, I think he's starting to score goals. Like every player, when the pucks starts to go in for you, it certainly helps your confidence. I think that's given Jared a big boost as well."
