CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Mike Sullivan figured he had a pretty good sense of what Brock McGinn could bring to the Penguins before they signed him as a free agent last summer.
And he did.
It just wasn't quite complete.
Sullivan knew he could count on McGinn to kill penalties, be responsible all over the rink, block shots, throw some hits and to generally make life unpleasant for opponents.
What he didn't realize was that McGinn could be as much of a factor in the Penguins' offense as he has been.
He enters the Penguins' game against the Hurricanes Sunday at 1:08 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena with 10 goals and six assists in 48 games.
Those numbers won't tempt Sullivan to have McGinn replace Jake Guentzel on Sidney Crosby's left side, but it's not bad production for a bottom-six guy who is averaging two seconds of power-play ice time per game.
"Brock has brought everything we anticipated that he would bring, and then some," Sullivan said after the Penguins' practice Saturday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. "It's been a little bit more (than anticipated) in the sense (of) his ability to help us generate offense has been impressive."
McGinn's 10 goals match the second-highest total in his seven-year NHL career; he scored 16 for Carolina in 2017-18, when he also put up a personal-best 30 points.
His role with the Penguins is pretty much the same one he filled for Carolina -- he describes it as "(penalty-kill), and also move up and down the lineup and just try to bring the same game every night" -- and he has proven to be a more-than-capable replacement for Brandon Tanev, the high-energy winger who went to Seattle in the expansion draft last summer.
Carolina wasn't eager to lose McGinn via free agency, but his absence certainly hasn't sabotaged their season. The Hurricanes are tied with the Penguins for first place in the Metropolitan Division, and have three games in hand.
Their blend of talent and tenacity makes them a popular choice to contend for a Stanley Cup this spring.
"They have a real balanced attack," Sullivan said. "They have a very mobile defense corps. They're well-coached. They play an in-your-face game in all three zones. They're very aggressive, and they're going to challenge their opponents to have to beat that aggression.
"They're a four-line team ... and they're deep. Some players on their team, the hockey world is starting to recognize as elite players. Players like (Sebastian) Aho, for example. Or (Andrei) Svechnikov. Or (Jaccob) Slavin on the blue line. These guys are really, really good players. They're some of the better players in the league."
Even so, the individual most responsible for Carolina's success might not be all-star goaltender Frederik Andersen or any of the Hurricanes' skilled forwards or active defemsemen, but coach Rod Brind'Amour, whose work ethic was legendary during his playing days.
"There was kind of a culture change there when (Brind'Amour) stepped behind the bench," McGinn said. "All the young guys and top players were held accountable, and I think that's something you need. They do a great job there of doing that."
MORE FROM THE PRACTICE
• Although the Penguins would like to diversify their offense, don't look for them to break up the No. 1 line, which features Crosby between Guentzel and Bryan Rust, to try to achieve greater balance. "When we're looking at our group of forwards and trying to assemble our four lines and trying to create the balanced attack that's always part of our objective as a coaching staff, it's hard for us to put a compelling argument together to split them up, because they just bring such a consistent game," Sullivan said. "And all three of them have done a really good job, as far as what they bring to that line."
• Tristan Jarry, on whether he does detailed studies of opposing players' tendencies, or prefers to simply react to situations as they develop: "I think it's a bit of both. You don't want to, obviously, (think you) know exactly what's going to happen and then something doesn't happen. It's just kind of reading off of it, knowing some guys' tendencies and some teams' tendencies."
• Sunday's game will be the Penguins' first against Carolina since a 6-2 Hurricanes victory March 8, 2020, which proved to be the Penguins' final home game before Covid-19 forced the NHL to suspend operations four days later. "It seems like an eternity ago," Sullivan said. "A lot has changed in the world. A lot has changed in the world of hockey. I'll tell you what hasn't changed: The Carolina Hurricanes are a really good hockey team. They were really good then. They're really good now.
• Personnel combinations:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Jeff Carter-Evgeni Malkin-Danton Heinen
Brock McGinn-Evan Rodrigues-Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Aston-Reese-Brian Boyle-Dominik Simon
Extras: Drew O'Connor, Radim Zohorna
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-John Marino
Mike Matheson-Chad Ruhwedel
Extra: Mark Friedman
Power play No. 1: Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Guentzel, Rust
Power play No. 2: Carter, Marino, Kapanen, Heinen, Rodrigues
