UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- "They don't like us, and we don't like them."
Tough talk?
This was Brandon Tanev, as one might expect. And it was no more than a minute after the Penguins had kicked and screamed, hacked and whacked, punched and counterpunched ...
... then ultimately Turbo-ed their way past the Islanders, 5-4, in an electrifying Game 3 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series Thursday night at Nassau Coliseum.
But it wasn't the talk that was tough. Not from Tanev or anyone. Because talk's never tough. Talk's easy.
That winner up there by Tanev, crashing the crease area for the final salvo with 3:36 left in regulation ... that's tough.

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Or Jeff Carter, not once but twice countering a New York goal within the next two minutes ... that's tough.

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Or Evgeni Malkin, rejoining the lineup despite a lingering knee injury that clearly hasn't mended, then registering two primary assists and one block for which he dropped onto that same knee ... that's tough.

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Or Sidney Crosby, still the planet's best player presuming it's still OK to weigh all 200 feet of ice, diving headfirst to deflect Brock Nelson's bid for a vacated net soon after the Tanev goal ... that's tough.

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Or Kris Letang, continuing to be the series' single most dominant force, shrugging off the Islanders relentlessly finishing their checks on him by putting forth the game's first goal, setting up the winner and adding another assist, a game-high 24:19 of ice time and the evening's No. 1 star ... that's tough.

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Or Tristan Jarry, after that Game 1 debacle, after the Islanders piled on top of him for the entire third period, standing tall and making save after save after save ... that's a toughness I definitely hadn't anticipated.
It's not about all the scraps. It's not about the slashes, cross-checks and trips, most of which went uncalled. It's not about the third-period mayhem ignited by the New York side, mostly by the hair-on-fire fourth line of Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin. And no, it's absolutely not about that sorry scene captured in the photo atop this column that led to an even sorrier scene when every skater on the ice would get squeezed into the two penalty boxes.
Because so much of that couldn't be controlled by the Penguins. If they couldn't count on either of the referees, Garrett Rank or Kelly Sutherland, to take charge of the third period -- sorry if that brings a spitting out of anyone's coffee -- then they had to do whatever needed to be done to achieve the desired result.
They had to bounce off the checks and the dirty fare. They had to bury any selfish wish to bite back individually. And to make sure it all mattered, they had beat this opponent in the one way it'd hurt the most.
My friends ... that's tough.
People don't think of toughness as it relates to Pittsburgh's NHL franchise and probably never will. The marquee talent's defined the Penguins since the mid-1980s, and that's held true, almost without pause, to this day. But thumb back up to a few of those names I cited above, and ask if Crosby, Malkin, Letang are some aberration. Or if they're just the norm. Same as when Mario Lemieux couldn't bend his back and needed help lacing up his skates all through the inaugural 1991 championship run. Same as when Jaromir Jagr could barely budge on a wonky groin but saved the team from financial ruin by beating the Devils in OT eight years later.
I broached this subject with Mike Sullivan after this game, that the Penguins aren't seen as tough or -- worse by far in the hockey vernacular -- tough enough. It's a subject he'll embrace every time, and this wasn't an exception.
"You can define toughness different ways," he began. "In my experience of coaching this group, since I've been here, suggests to me that this is one of the toughest cores I've been around."
Interrupting here, when Sullivan references a core, he actually means The Core. As in Crosby, Malkin, Letang.
"They play through whatever they have to in order to win," he continued. "There's a certain resilience about it. They do it every single year. Especially at this time of year. Playoff hockey."
Pausing a moment, he'd add, "For me, the important thing is that we're just playing the game that gives us the best chance to win. And that we don't get deterred from playing that type of game. And tonight was a perfect example of it. Give the Islanders credit. They pushed hard in the third period. There were a lot of emotions. But I thought we did a really good job of just responding to some of the adversities. Throughout the game but, in particular, in the third period."
They did. And to repeat, look at those names.
It's easy and arguably lazy to look at stars and judge their team-based successes solely on the supporting cast. That's happening a lot these days, for example, with Connor McDavid in Edmonton. But the cold truth is that, at some stage of their careers, those stars have to find their own fresh gears. And excel in all facets. Lemieux found it. Jagr found it. Crosby, Malkin and Letang ... my goodness, it feels like they were kind of born into it in Pittsburgh.
But yeah, supporting cast plays a huge part. And collective DNA of this roster, even without the Ryan Reaves type so many faithful still drool over, has a toughness that I haven't seen from this team in, oh, say, four years or so.
Quick: Name one player who partook in this affair who looked fearful. Of anyone or anything.
Heck, even Jake Guentzel, who's been rag-dolled by the Islanders from the series' opening draw, was getting in his own face-washes.
This bodes well. Not just for this round but for the potential next one. They can't talk about stuff like this, but I can: I'm not sure if I'd have taken these Penguins too seriously in facing the Bruins or Capitals had they not absorbed -- and overcome -- this bruising here. And I'd like to think they'll be better served for it.
I also asked Carter, since he's the new guy, about the Penguins' reputation around the NHL regarding toughness.
"Yeah, I mean, you look at our roster, the way it's built, you probably wouldn't think we have that," he replied with a slight laugh punctuating that. "But there are a lot of different ways in this league to be a tough player. This is a resilient group. They don't back down from anybody. They stick up for each other. It's nice to see. It's fun to see."
Anyone care to argue with Carter?
Beware: He tends to have the last word.
• Letang, the only Core player made available afterward, wanted nothing to do with any comparison between this team's toughness and that of the past three editions: "It's in the past." But he did say of the team's general approach to this third period: "You have to stay calm and collected. We have a lot of guys who've been in those situations. ... You just try to play the same way. Whatever gave you success in the second, you try to go back to it in the third."
• Wait, I forgot to show the Crosby block?
Oh, my, let's rectify that at once:
Go ahead and picture McDavid contemplating that.
• I got back to my hotel -- it's right across the parking lot from the arena -- and flipped on NHL Network to catch highlights of other games while typing. And not at all to my surprise, when they showed nearly five minutes of highlights from this one, Crosby's block wasn't part of it.
This is the difference between the NHL and other sports. If LeBron James had made a block like that, the NBA machine would have people putting together poetry on it by midnight. The NHL's people across the river here didn't even know it took place.
• Be sure the Islanders noticed. Mathew Barzal would observe, "Sid's playing real good hockey, you can tell. He made that play late in the game to stop Nelly from an empty net. He's playing committed hockey."
• Barzal had two assists, Jordan Eberle one, representing their first points of the series. And both were more visible, finally able to get away from the Blueger line engulfing them. But there remains no way for New York to win this series with those two scoring zero goals.
• Best thing about Jason Zucker's goal wasn't his dancing through the slot, nor his forehand flick to the top far corner, but his epic celebration:

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Jason Zucker celebrates his goal Thursday night in Uniondale, N.Y.
Don't discount the importance of this. He's a good player. The Penguins could use him.
• Funny, but it felt like the winning goal was scored in this game a half-dozen times.
• There are no opinions about Carter. There are only facts: He's now played 17 games in a Pittsburgh sweater, and he's scored 12 goals.
• Of the Islanders' four goals, Jarry was at fault on none, at least not from this press-box perch. Screens, tips and rebounds all.
Best way to summarize how good he was: New York finished with a 17-11 advantage in high-danger chances, and that advanced statistic doesn't even take account other elements of degree of difficulty. Like, you know, Clutterbuck taking a nap on the guy.
What a bounceback. Easily the most encouraging cumulative development of these three games.
• That said, Jarry's teammates would do well to upgrade their coverage/protection in that region in Game 4. If only to ensure he makes it to Game 5.
• Barry Trotz, one of the few coaches anywhere not shy to criticize his goaltending, had this to offer on Semyon Varlamov after the Penguins beat him on 5 of 35 shots, three of them unscreened: "I'll have to look at it again. Sometimes your first reaction might not be favorable. But I'm going to look at all the chances and the goals and see what we could've done."
I've never thought much of Varlamov because of his inconsistencies, but he's more gifted than Ilya Sorokin. Besides, changing twice in the first four games of a series would reek of panic.
• Update on the brilliant Trotz defensive system: The Penguins now have 187 shot attempts through 196 minutes, 30 seconds of action, meaning they're good for one a minute. And this despite being obstructed at every turn.
But hey, never let a good narrative fade.
• He'll totally thug it up in Game 4. Watch.
• I'd be remiss if not mentioning the Penguins taking a couple of ill-advised penalties, notably Teddy Blueger -- nicest guy ever -- with a ferocious slash on Nelson that easily could've called for more than the minor he was assessed. Calm, collected 'n' at.
• The NHL's helmet rule is stupid. If it costs only one team one goal in one playoff game, it's stupid.
Yeah, John Marino should've known better than to leave the ice from his defensive zone while protecting a two-goal lead. Every player, but especially a Harvard grad, should know all the rules. But that doesn't mean the rule isn't stupid.
Unless, of course, anyone can explain how a league that allows fighting in the 21st century is suddenly concerned about a player finishing out the final few seconds of a shift without a casing over roughly 40% of his head.
• Dave Molinari, our beat guy, and I disagreed on the quality of Malkin's skating. Dave thought he looked terrific, and I thought he looked pensive, guarded and free of any real burst. But Dave's in the Hall of Fame, and I'll always have to buy a ticket to get in, so go ahead and hope that he's right.
• This was Letang's fifth three-point playoff game, passing Larry Murphy's four for the Penguins' record. Which leads me to repeat for maybe the 58,000,000th time: This is the best defenseman in franchise history. Besides, anyone else in the discussion -- Murphy, Paul Coffey -- didn't play in Pittsburgh anywhere near long enough for such a distinction.
• Speaking of blue-line legends, it was great to see Darius Kasparaitis in the house. Looked fit enough that he could've leaped right onto the ice for that third period, too. Either side. Or both.
• This crowd, this atmosphere was nothing like 2019. It couldn't be. Half the place had semi-normal seating since those fans showed proof of vaccination, and the other half was as spaced out as any COVID crowd. Yeah, it got jumpy in the third period, but there's no comparison.
• I couldn't help but ask Tanev, whose 'Turbo' engine never stops, how he, of all people, found the patience to wait for that puck to come down to a legal height before smacking it into the net.
"Yeah, obviously, with how the third period went, it's a whirlwind of emotions, and your adrenaline's pumping," he answered at the same rapid-fire pace he skates. "I saw the puck come off Tanger's stick, I was fortunate to get a good bounce, I was able to get a goal, and we move on from there."
With that, he got up and left the call area.
We move on from there.