TAMPA, Fla. -- Seated at his stall late Thursday night at Amalie Arena, Kris Letang was delicately, deliberately peeling off the tape from his shinpads. He'd been limited to a single hand, the other having been bandaged up for a finger that'd been bloodied by an opponent's shot. He'd been limited in all other movement, even facial expressions, by an upper lip that'd required two dozen stitches upon being bludgeoned by yet another opponent's shot several seconds later.
At the risk of getting all grisly, the scene came across like the classic triangulation of crossfire.
To wit, the Zapruder version:
Wow. Never seen anything like it, at least not this side of the Grassy Knoll. And that's to say nothing of the most merciless component in that the opponent scored a goal in Letang's nearly literal wake.
And yet, as I'd approach him at that stall, after he'd somehow miss scarcely a period of the Penguins' 5-4 overtime victory over the Lightning here, when I asked how his evening was going, he'd reply, "Yeah, it was great."
He meant it, too. Watch:
"It went back and forth," he'd proceed. "They got some momentum, then we got some, but we stuck with it, and we got big goals from big players."
And of the simulated assault on his very being, he'd add only, "I mean ... s--- happens, I guess."
He's correct on all counts, of course, including that there were big goals from big players, two each from Jeff Petry and Jason Zucker, the latter with the well-celebrated winner -- see the gorgeous Getty photo atop this column -- plus the most promising one in some time from young Drew O'Connor. There were 27 big saves from Tristan Jarry, who was far more effective than the score might suggest. There was a solid 200-foot debut from Mikael Granlund, freshly arrived via trade from Nashville.
There was even -- sit down for this -- the first real Jeff Carter sighting in months. He registered two assists, earned the game's No. 2 star and, quite possibly, benefited as much as anyone or anything from Granlund's addition. His new third line, with Granlund and Danton Heinen flanking, had by far the team's best five-on-five possession metrics.
And overall, hey, that's four Ws in a row, plus a leap over the idle Islanders into the Eastern Conference's first of two wild card slots.
Which, if it's all added up, should explain Zucker's second late winner in as many games ...
... and then off.
"Yeah, it was great," he'd say of the moment he made Marcus Pettersson's smooth skating sequence and setup count with a one-timer behind Andrei Vasilevskiy. "I mean, more than the feeling of scoring, it's just the win, right? We're in a battle here. We're gonna be in a battle through the end of the season. So for us, we're just excited to get these two points now."
Mike Sullivan saw it much the same, saying, "I thought our guys competed really hard," before adding of two of those Ws coming at the Lightning's expense, "I think it means a lot to take four points from a team like that, and in the same week. It's definitely something we can build on. I think our guys feel good about it."
Maybe more than the norm, I'd follow up, after 48 hours of tumult?
"It does, yeah. Because we're trying to figure out what we have here, how to make combinations work, and we're going that on the fly. You probably saw some of that tonight."
I nodded.
"We'll figure that out. We'll put some combinations together that make us a little deeper. We'll see where it goes. But we're excited about the potential moving forward."
So, anyone believe them?
Or believe in them, I should say?
Eh. Probably not many, I'm guessing. Particularly not after everyone everywhere -- me, too -- rightly buried Ron Hextall about 27 feet deep for the manner in which he traded for Granlund, senselessly blowing all his cap space on a single player who, while a welcome addition, wasn't worth anywhere near the price paid of an annual cap hit of $5 million for this season plus two more, as well as a second-round draft pick.
It was in that moment that this marquee franchise's fan base, far and wide, fumed in unison in a way ... I'm not sure I've witnessed in quite some time. Almost all of it aimed at Hextall, but also accompanied by real-feel resignation over the future in general.
I'll repeat: It's right to bury Hextall. He's bungled up enough stuff that Fenway Sports Group, presuming anyone there pays attention, should already be researching possible replacements.
But, if I might be so bold as to offer a bit of broader advice: I wouldn't take it out on the team. Or, for that matter, Granlund, since good players get moved in bad transactions all the time, and he's undeniably a good player.
From the players' part, for all the hysteria around the trade, even those who tend to stay most in tune with social media and the like professed to not share any such sentiment. Those with whom I spoke here shared only glowing positives about Granlund, about what his skill set, character and versatility could bring, and about how quickly they anticipate he'll adjust to Sullivan's system being way more aggressive than that of the Predators.
One player, not speaking for attribution, told me, "Pittsburgh's going to love him. You'll see."
That same player, when I pressed on the team's collective state of mind after adding Granlund and losing three regulars -- Teddy Blueger, Kasperi Kapanen and Brock McGinn, none of whom were productive but all of whom were respected -- responded simply, "We're fine. We're all fine. We need to keep winning."
Anyone arguing that?
Look, they aren't perfect. They aren't about to become perfect, even if Hextall were to pull off another trade or two before the NHL's Friday 3 p.m. deadline. But there are few friendly trends that've felt more bullish of late, and it'd be folly, I think, to fritter them away on emotion related to moves that were or weren't made.
Want a little list?
I really like, for instance, the passing of late:
That's a Pettersson remake of the Murphy Dump, and it's magnificent.
Hockey's pathetic lack of data in the year 2023 won't allow me to support this with statistics, by my eyes from way up in the press box convinced me that the passing's been as crisp and fast-paced over the past week as at any point in the season. And this matters, to say the least, considering this isn't the league's fastest roster and, as youth coaches love to preach, a pass will always move faster than anyone can skate.
"Yeah, I think the last little while, we've supported the puck better," Petry would tell me on this subject. "We're around the puck in all three zones, and that makes the transition game easier. There are other things we're working on, and it's good to see them kinda play out in games. We've just got to keep building on that."
Here's another: Petry himself.
It's taken a while, for sure longer than he himself would've liked given that wrist injury that cost him a month, but his performance here, while highlighted by two big-boy goals in 25 seconds ...
... also came with several other authoritative rushes, reminiscent of his recent time in Montreal when he was touted as a Norris Trophy candidate.
This is the Petry the Penguins hoped to acquire, and this is the one they're now getting.
"It's a good feeling" was as far as he'd go in gauging his own output here, but he knows better. We talk a lot, and his expectations are higher than anyone's.
Here's another: Jarry's back.
If he's made a save with more sizzle than that glove on Nikita Kucherov, with Tampa Bay on a five-on-three power play, I can't recall it.
"Tonight, I think we just kinda willed it," Jarry would say of the result.
"I think that, with every game I play, it gets better," he'd say of his own results -- .916 save percentage in three starts since the Edmonton debacle -- since returning from injury. "My timing gets a little better, my thought process ... I'm thinking quicker."
And then there's O'Connor:
My goodness. Shades of Kevin Stevens.
Let the kid play. Let the kid live it up, laugh it up, keep growing -- even bigger than his 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame -- right before our eyes. Nothing, nothing, nothing could mean more to the process, now or months from now or years from now.
Give a look and listen, and tell me he's not different now than earlier in the season:
I'm not transcribing that one. Press play. He's worth getting to know.
Say what one will of these mega-maddening Penguins, from management on down, but they're still standing on their own two skates, all their stars intact, their supporting system seemingly aligning by the day, while staring straight ahead.
There are worse places to be.
GETTY
Jeff Petry blasts a slap shot in the second period Thursday night in Tampa, Fla.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at Amalie Arena:
1. Jeff Petry, Penguins D
2. Jeff Carter, Penguins C
3. Brayden Point, Lightning C
THE INJURIES
• Ryan Poehling, left winger, has a lingering upper-body injury and didn't skate Thursday morning, after which Sullivan acknowledged Poehling "took a step back" in his rehab.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan's lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker-Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen-Jeff Carter-Mikael Granlund
Drake Caggiula-Drew O'Connor-Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-Jeff Petry
P.O Joseph-Jan Rutta
And for Jon Cooper's Lightning:
Brandon Hagel-Brayden Point-Nikita Kucherov
Steven Stamkos-Anthony Cirelli-Alex Killorn
Ross Colton-Nicholas Paul-Tanner Jeannot
Pat Maroon-P-E Bellemare-Corey Perry
Victor Hedman-Erik Cernak
Ian Cole-Darren Raddysh
Mikhail Sergachev-Nick Perbix
THE SCHEDULE
There's a practice Friday on the other side of the state, 12 p.m., at the Panthers Ice Den in Coral Springs, Fla. And there'll be a game the next night against the Panthers in Sunrise. Taylor will wrap up the trip herself. As for me, I'll bound down I-75 to Sarasota to cover the Pirates-Orioles exhibition, followed by a weekend of spring training columns.
Thanks for reading my hockey coverage all week!
THE MULTIMEDIA
THE CONTENT
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