"It's been a long way back to the NHL," Freddy Gaudreau said. "To have nights like that, it for sure feels good."
When the Penguins signed Gaudreau last offseason, he had eight points in 82 regular season games over three NHL seasons.
In a span of just 17:28 in Thursday's 8-4 win over the Sabres, Gaudreau recorded three assists to set a new career high in points in a single game. Now with nine points in 18 NHL games this season, his point total as a Penguins already surpasses that of his 82 games in the regular season with Nashville.
Since Evgeni Malkin returned in Philadelphia, Gaudreau's linemates on the third line have been Jared McCann and Jeff Carter. The line at five-on-five combined for four of the Penguins' eight goals on Thursday, with Carter adding another on the power play to add to his four-goal night.
"It starts with smart play in the D zone," Gaudreau said of his line's success. "Just making sure we take care of our zone. There's just some nights like that where everything seems to happen the right way and end up in the back of the net. It was awesome to see Jeff's four-goal night."
Gaudreau's first point was the secondary assist on Carter's first of the four goals, and Carter acknowledged Gaudreau's effort on the play after the game:
"That goal doesn't happen without his wall play," Carter said. "He's a guy that's hard on pucks, competes on pucks, wins puck battles."
When Carter completed the hat trick early in the third period, Gaudreau added another secondary assist:
"Freddy has been awesome," Carter said of Gaudreau's contributions to their line since they've been together. "Just a real consistent, steady player. ... He's made life pretty easy for myself and Jared. I've been pretty lucky to play with him."
McCann scored the Penguins' fifth goal three minutes later, and Gaudreau forced the Sabres' offensive zone turnover to make it happen:
Kris Letang said after the game that looking back, they knew "right away" that the Penguins were getting a "really good player" in Gaudreau when he was signed, noting the 2017 Stanley Cup Final when Gaudreau had three goals for the Predators.
"He's a special player," Letang said. "He can fit anywhere on your lineup. He brings tons of speed, he's got a lot of skill, also. He can play power play, PK, and he brings a great attitude in the room. Everybody likes to spend time with him, he's a great guy. It's good to have him, it's fun to see him having success."
Though Gaudreau made an impact in the 2017 Final in his first season in the NHL, he wasn't able to quite become a regular yet in his second season. He played 55 games with Nashville the following year in 2018-19, but recorded just four points in that time. He spent the entire 2019-20 season with Nashville's AHL affiliate in Milwaukee, putting in the work to get back to this level and contribute. He earned his shot in Pittsburgh after a run of injuries at forward, but with the way he's taken advantage of this opportunity, it's hard to picture him coming out of the lineup once the Penguins finally get healthy at forward.
"He has an impact on the game, both offensively and defensively," Mike Sullivan said of Gaudreau after Thursday's morning skate, prior to Gaudreau's career night. "He helps us on the penalty kill, he can take faceoffs. But to play the wing as well is just an added bonus. We've really liked Freddy's game since he's come up. He's earned every opportunity that he's been given to this point. Nothing's been handed to Freddy. He brings a lot of energy to the game, and I believe that energy is contagious. He's playing a committed game right now. He's hungry, he's hard on pucks, he wins puck battles, and he does a lot of the little things that help teams be successful."
The Penguins' third line was key in the back-to-back Stanley Cup runs in 2016 and 2017. Now, as the Penguins are gearing up for another playoff run, the third line looks the best it has since those earlier runs. And Gaudreau is a big part of that.
