Kovacevic: And all it'll take now is to sustain this solar-flare intensity

"I know we have more to give."

This was Mike Sullivan, Sunday afternoon, assessing in a soft but serious tone what he'd felt had gone awry for his Penguins in Game 1 of these Stanley Cup playoffs. And it was, at once, powerful, predictable and prescient.

It was powerful in the sense that, to the common eye, it might've appeared their overall effort was acceptable, at least as compared to the one put forth by Tristan Jarry.

It was predictable in the sense that, as I wrote that day, it's counter to the hockey culture to criticize the goaltending and, even if Sullivan were so tempted, he couldn't do it with his backup hurt.

And it was prescient in the sense that ...

... yeah, all that: Penguins 2, Islanders 1. 

Series all tied up. Satisfaction all around. And along the way, sweat oozing from every blessed pore. 

Not to mention the blood, the bumps and bruises, Brandon Tanev pile-driving Brock Nelson into the near boards, Brian Dumoulin's back being slammed into the end boards, Zach Aston-Reese and Matt Martin tangled up like Greco-Roman wrestlers for two full minutes, Jake Guentzel being whack-a-moled every other shift, Sidney Crosby going all big-brother on whoever'd be responsible for that ... and whatever it was that made Kris Letang's famous mane flap all over creation in the symbolically sweet Emilee Chinn photo atop of this column.

These were the playoffs. And Sullivan was right: The Penguins finally participated at precisely that level.

"We competed hard," he'd say following this one, and this man's lexicon isn't equipped with higher praise than those three words. "We played on our toes. I thought we defended well."

Small pause, then, "You know, we're playing against a real good team. We knew this was gonna be a tough battle. The games are gonna be close. And we're gonna need everyone to compete."

That's everyone, as in everyone:

Don't pass that up. Press play. Put the volume up.

"That was pretty cool to be a part of," Mike Matheson would say. "It was amazing to have the fans being such a big part of the game."

He wasn't stretching it.

This broader process began, really, with the burst of energy provided from the unprecedented half-capacity crowd of 9,344, double the previous capacity of 4,672, marking the largest gathering of sentient beings in our city since the pandemic's outset. They were cheering and chanting, leaping and roaring throughout, and, most striking by far, sounded determined to pick up the team when it was most needed. Meaning all through the third period, with the Penguins holding that same 2-1 lead.

"They brought a ton of energy," Bryan Rust would observe. "They gave our team a lot of life, and I think you saw that in the third when they had us keep pushing, keep fighting to the end."

They did. As a great man who works just behind me at these events would say, you had to be here to believe it. I hadn't anticipated a doubling of the crowd size would make this big a difference, not in decibels, certainly not on the ice. But if there were a fourth star on this night, it could've gone to the citizens themselves.

I'll award my own to season-ticket holder and longtime reader Maryellen Kelly, who was back in the building for the first time:

Next in line was Jarry, as I knew he would be, for better or worse. And all he'd do is elevate his performance from embarrassing to exquisite. Right from the opening draw, too, never giving his teammates cause for doubt, with an early blocker stop on Oliver Wahlstrom and a soon-after scramble to stuff Casey Cizikas.

He'd stop 37 of 38 New York shots in all, 13 of 14 high-danger chances.

I asked Jarry what, if anything, he'd changed between the two games, and he answered, "I think I was just trying to keep it simple and get better than I was last game. I wanted to be better tonight, and I think that was ... an easy thing to do for me."

Ha!

Wait, that was humor, right?

He never cracked the slightest smile, and he's not exactly John Mulaney at the Improv, so I'm skeptical. But that'd be awesome if he meant it that way.

I then asked Sullivan how impressed he was by both Jarry and how his team stayed true to Jarry and never seemed to stray out of any lack of confidence, and he answered, "I thought Tristan had a great game. He's done that for us most of this year. Our players, our coaching staff, our management team, we have the ultimate faith in Tristan. There was no doubt in my mind he was gonna come back and have a solid effort. And that's what he did for us tonight."

From there, it was academic. Not easy to do, mind you, but easy to explain. And not at all surprising.

This has been a max-effort group for quite some time now, the franchise's first in any sustained spirit since the most recent Cup run. Singling out anyone, at least more than the handful I already have, would feel unfair. Suffice it to say, the team as a whole threw themselves about the rink like Evan Rodrigues overdosed on Five Hour Energy, while also staying smart and poised enough to make that matter.

• Shots advantage: 45-38
• Shot attempts: 68-51
• Even-strength possession: 59.3%

Sure, there were flaws and I'll get to a couple below, but that's generally the Penguins at their peak. That's who they are.

Anyone watching, say, the comparatively suicidal series taking place between the two Florida teams might be temped to wonder why this one doesn't resemble that. Or why the home team here, specifically, doesn't go all reckless-abandon like that. But it's got to be understood -- and I think, respected -- that Sullivan's systems balanced speed, skill and smarts, and the headless-chicken approach isn't a fit with this roster or this mindset.

Once more: Penguins. At. Their. Peak.

Here's the thing, though: This is what it'll take. Not just in Games 3 and 4 in that mini-monolith on Long Island. Not just in this series. But for however long this run might last.

Because, as inspired as both Crosby and Letang have been through two games, and as wonderful as it'll be to welcome back Evgeni Malkin at some point, the days of the core doing the franchise-carrying are in the past. I can't be positive there's any organizational awareness of this, or if it's even some silent, unspoken thing, but I can hope that it's part of what we're witnessing. This team-first commitment. This support all over the rink. This fearlessness.

The black-and-blueprint's now at hand.

• Promised I'd get to the flaws, and that's topped by the power play, which went 0 for 2 -- now 0 for 5 in the series -- and registered one whopping shot attempt.

The problem, principally, has been an inability to gain the New York zone and set up. That's why the second unit, which has Kasperi Kapanen playing the carrier role once held by Phil Kessel, was able to at least try the latter. The first unit hasn't had anyone in that role, and Barry Trotz has seized upon that by assigning his PK guys to stay at the New York blue line and pounce upon the Penguins' arrival. Think of it as a compacted trap.

Further, Trotz has his PK forwards pressing hard at the points. Cal Clutterbuck, in particular, has been a whirlwind in ensuring Letang and everyone else at the points -- including umbrella-formation forwards -- aren't getting a split-second to look around.

What's the adjustment to that?

Shoot the puck.

• Another flaw: Far too much passing on odd-man breaks.

The Islanders aren't nearly as good as they think they are defensively, but they still don't give up many two-on-ones. So when they do, it's a perfectly terrible idea to pass, which both Jake Guentzel and Freddy Gaudreau did in this one, just as Sid did in the last one?

What's the adjustment to that?

Yeah, you know.

• Rust's icebreaking goal was every bit as dubious from the goaltending standpoint as any Jarry gave up in Game 1. But give Semyon Varlamov credit: He bounced back in the biggest way, finishing his first action since a May 10 injury with 44 saves and fully justifying Trotz's precarious call to start him over the Game 1 winner, Ilya Sorokin. 

The Islanders will be that much stronger for it.

"Varlamov's been our No. 1 goalie all year," Trotz said. "We wouldn't be in the playoffs if it wasn't for Varly."

• I wouldn't recommend supplemental punishment for J-G Pageau's spinning around of Dumoulin that caused him to crash, upper back first, into the boards in the second period. But I wouldn't have let him off without a minor, for crying out loud. That's a dangerous maneuver, and the Penguins were right to be peeved about it.

The referees, Gord Dwyer and TJ Luxmore, were so hellbent on not raising their right arms all night that the third period disintegrated into a farce of players openly committing fouls without fear. That peaked with the Islanders' Leo Komarov removing his hand from his stick, raising it into the air as if to announce he was about to commit holding, then applying his free hand to do exactly that. With no call.

What a league.

• Heck, it took Rust pretty much stuffing an aerial puck into his pocket for a call to be made.

Rust did go to the box and, to hear him tell it, felt shame.

"I was so worried about getting the puck out of the zone," he'd explain later. "I made kind of a mental error there. Our guys did a great job, and you saw how much the crowd got into it. I definitely gotta thank those guys."

The penalty was killed. The people were thanked, I'm sure. Big whoop. The way all the rest of the Penguins played in this game, that's how Rust plays every game.

• Never mind Jeff Carter's goal, and let's talk instead about Sullivan sending him out to center the forwards for that kill.

I know he looked gassed on the Islanders' lone goal, barely budging toward Josh Bailey in the slot, but this trade's positives continue to pile up.

• To anyone who wants to be the total buzzkill at the virtual water-cooler, please point out that Bailey's shot beat Jarry to the glove side. Just go right ahead and say that.

• It's almost inconceivable that a line can do more without scoring than what Teddy Blueger, Zach Aston-Reese and Tanev have done, but there's an argument to be made. Matched up mostly against New York's top line of Mat Barzal, Jordan Eberle and Komarov, they accounted for 13 of the 19 shot attempts generated in that shared ice time and had a bevy of golden cracks in the third period alone. And defensively, they've held Barzal, Eberle and Komarov pointless.

It'll be harder for Sullivan to persist with this matchup on Long Island, obviously, with Trotz having the last change. But it'll be worth any extra effort to make that happen.

• My stance all season has been that the Islanders aren't even the best defensive team in the East Division, much less the NHL, as some state without support. Better believe that hasn't changed now that, through two games, the Penguins have pumped out 81 shots, 122 shot attempts and 19 high-danger chances ... just at five-on-five!

Adopting a defensive posture isn't akin to being efficient defensively.

• If there were a Conn Smythe through two games of a playoff, my top three votes would all go to Letang. 

• If it feels like it's been a while, it has: That brought the Penguins' first playoff victory on Pittsburgh ice since May 3, 2018, over the Capitals, and they'd lost the next four until this.

• Enjoy it while it's there. The next environment will be 180 degrees different.