Drive to the Net: When O'Connor (finally) comes a-knockin'
Drew O'Connor isn't quite the quiet type, so it should speak loudly that he was scarcely audible when answering my questions tonight about his two-goal breakout -- this after 32 games without one -- in the Penguins' 4-2 loss to the Red Wings here at Little Caesars Arena.
No, really, check this out:
"Yeah, it felt nice. It's never fun going a long stretch without scoring. You try to do other things to help, but at the end of the day, as a forward especially, you want to score and contribute offensively. It can be difficult when you're not doing that, feeling like you're not helping out enough, so it was nice to get that."
Uh-huh. Nice. Dude literally shaved his head a couple weeks ago in Columbus to try to change his luck, but this was just nice.
Let's help him out a little here, huh?
"Oh, it's huge," Alex Nedeljković was telling me across the way. "OC's played so well for us lately, and to see him rewarded like that, to see him score the way he did, that's going to be huge not just for him but for all of us. We need him."
What a play by increasingly productive Cody Glass to craft it, as well. He followed O'Connor's forecheck into the Detroit zone, got surrounded by two Red Wings and simply danced around both before finding O'Connor for the one-timer.
But let's talk about that shot.
"That's what I've got to do," he'd tell me.
Yep. That and make himself available, the way Michael Bunting's been doing borderline brilliantly for a month now:
He didn't wait for Glass to find him. He became visible. He presented his blade as an option, and he pulverized the puck without first trying to read Gary Bettman's signature on it.
If the first was nice, the second was niiiiiiiiiice.
"How many cracks did I have at that one," O'Connor asked me.
Two, maybe three, I replied.
"Well, that's how those have to go."
Not every time. O'Connor's got the size, speed and, again, the shot to create offense in different ways. He's shown a sharp passing touch, as well. All of that was witnessed through the final stretch of last season, and it carried, for the most part, into training camp, the preseason, and even through scoring three times in the first six games of this regular season.
But getting real here, he's the one guy on this roster who'll gut out a goal like the one above. And that can't go missing if these Penguins are to go anywhere. It flat-out alters the feel of the entire lineup on a given night.
“It’s great," Mike Sullivan would say of O'Connor's goals. "I told him that before the game and the last game he played, I thought it was the best game he’s played in a couple of months. And that, if he continues to play like that, he’s going to score. So I was happy that he was able to break through. I think it'll be a big boost for his confidence. I’m sure it will be a relief for him. Obviously, we’re thrilled for him.”
If O'Connor was thrilled, of course, he wasn't billboarding it. But there was a reason for that, including his aforementioned relative silence: Sitting at the stall immediately to his left was Sidney Crosby, and the captain's not much into anything that doesn't involve winning.
Smart kid, too. I'd left that out.
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THE ASYLUM
Dejan Kovacevic
5:47 am - 01.01.2025DetroitDrive to the Net: When O'Connor (finally) comes a-knockin'
Drew O'Connor isn't quite the quiet type, so it should speak loudly that he was scarcely audible when answering my questions tonight about his two-goal breakout -- this after 32 games without one -- in the Penguins' 4-2 loss to the Red Wings here at Little Caesars Arena.
No, really, check this out:
"Yeah, it felt nice. It's never fun going a long stretch without scoring. You try to do other things to help, but at the end of the day, as a forward especially, you want to score and contribute offensively. It can be difficult when you're not doing that, feeling like you're not helping out enough, so it was nice to get that."
Uh-huh. Nice. Dude literally shaved his head a couple weeks ago in Columbus to try to change his luck, but this was just nice.
Let's help him out a little here, huh?
"Oh, it's huge," Alex Nedeljković was telling me across the way. "OC's played so well for us lately, and to see him rewarded like that, to see him score the way he did, that's going to be huge not just for him but for all of us. We need him."
That. All of that.
This was O'Connor's first goal since Oct. 18:
Looked like that felt nice, too. What a reaction.
What a play by increasingly productive Cody Glass to craft it, as well. He followed O'Connor's forecheck into the Detroit zone, got surrounded by two Red Wings and simply danced around both before finding O'Connor for the one-timer.
But let's talk about that shot.
"That's what I've got to do," he'd tell me.
Yep. That and make himself available, the way Michael Bunting's been doing borderline brilliantly for a month now:
He didn't wait for Glass to find him. He became visible. He presented his blade as an option, and he pulverized the puck without first trying to read Gary Bettman's signature on it.
The second one, though:
If the first was nice, the second was niiiiiiiiiice.
"How many cracks did I have at that one," O'Connor asked me.
Two, maybe three, I replied.
"Well, that's how those have to go."
Not every time. O'Connor's got the size, speed and, again, the shot to create offense in different ways. He's shown a sharp passing touch, as well. All of that was witnessed through the final stretch of last season, and it carried, for the most part, into training camp, the preseason, and even through scoring three times in the first six games of this regular season.
But getting real here, he's the one guy on this roster who'll gut out a goal like the one above. And that can't go missing if these Penguins are to go anywhere. It flat-out alters the feel of the entire lineup on a given night.
“It’s great," Mike Sullivan would say of O'Connor's goals. "I told him that before the game and the last game he played, I thought it was the best game he’s played in a couple of months. And that, if he continues to play like that, he’s going to score. So I was happy that he was able to break through. I think it'll be a big boost for his confidence. I’m sure it will be a relief for him. Obviously, we’re thrilled for him.”
If O'Connor was thrilled, of course, he wasn't billboarding it. But there was a reason for that, including his aforementioned relative silence: Sitting at the stall immediately to his left was Sidney Crosby, and the captain's not much into anything that doesn't involve winning.
Smart kid, too. I'd left that out.
Want to participate in our comments?
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Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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