What follows won't constitute a criticism of any kind.

If anything, the Penguins, top to bottom, are to be commended, as I see it, not only for promoting Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty, their top two prospects, for these final 10 NHL games, beginning with this 1-0 overtime win over the Senators tonight here at PPG Paints Arena, but also for how it's been handled:

• Everything's above board: It couldn't be clearer to all concerned that both are here for a combination of a reward for fine AHL seasons and as an acceleration of their development. After which, almost certainly, they'll be returned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in time for a plausible run at the Calder Cup. That's good business.

• The veterans have been brought in on this. That couldn't be more obvious, with the way Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, Kevin Hayes and others have spoken about the new arrivals and, even more telling, all the extra work they put in on the ice through this game to help them out. As Koivunen put it regarding Sid, "We talked so much."

They really did:

JOE SARGENT / GETTY

Same with McGroarty, as he'd acknowledge: "Nonstop communication."

• Above all, both were put into real, live, take-them-seriously roles. Which, for the uninitiated, isn't exactly how these scenes have played out over the years. But there was Koivunen, out there on the second line with Hayes and Rickard Rakell and Connor Dewar, logging 17:28 of ice time, including 1:41 on the top power-play unit. And there was McGroarty, out there on the top line with Sid and Rust, logging 16:57 of ice time, including 31 seconds on PP2. 

None of us can know which of Kyle Dubas or Mike Sullivan came up with that plan -- or if it was both -- but my goodness, that's a welcome departure from Sam Poulin seeing a couple of first-period shifts on the fourth line, only to get buried on the bench the rest of the way.

Baby steps 'n' at.

So, how'd they fare?

Well, as stated, I'm not about to go too far on any front. One game's one game, and any assessment won't mean much even after all eight of these games.

But it feels fair to share a few observations:

That's Koivunen going way offside. One of his first shifts. Now, Rakell tends to be more creative than most upon entering a zone, so it wouldn't have surprised anyone but a newbie. And the only reason I'm sharing it is that Koivunen never made that mistake again. Very next shift, in fact, he pumped the brakes.

I asked if he'd maybe thought it'd be a simple dump-in, as it likely would've been in the AHL.

"Yeah, I think so," he replied. "Here, it's different."

More Koivunen:

There are few occurrences more rare in modern hockey than Drake Batherson not scoring against the Penguins, so take the above in that context. Because, if Koivunen doesn't abandon his point man -- his only real responsibility up there -- to stick-check Batherson, that puck's finding the back of the net.

That takes more than a rookie-level instinct. That's sensing danger and adjusting in real time.

A couple from McGroarty:

That's a two-on-one with Hayes, one that both did well to create beginning back at the Pittsburgh blue line. The pass from Hayes is ... wow, just sublime, saucering over Artem Zub's blade and landing right on McGroarty's. But he tries to catch the pass rather than doing whatever he could to shoot.

Here, too, they don't make passes like this in the AHL, never mind the bonus look-off that Hayes gives Anton Forsberg to get him to the top of the blue paint.

Another, this in the final ticks of regulation, which would've been something to see:

As it was, that'd be a hooking call on Ridly Greig for getting under McGroarty's right armpit, which set the stage for the power play in overtime that'd see Sid win it. So that's to McGroarty's credit unto itself.

And yet, that rocket pass from Rakell ... man, there's another one.

I asked McGroarty about the caliber of the passes and looks he had, and he was candid as ever:

I'm not typing out that answer. He's way too cool to just read. Watch him. Listen to him.

Here's the full Koivunen session, as well, also worth attention even if he's nowhere near as chatty:

Sullivan's assessment of both players: "I thought they both had great games. I thought they played hard, they brought us some energy, and you can see that their hockey IQ is high and their compete level is high. I'm sure they were playing on adrenaline and for obvious reasons. When you get called up and have an opportunity to play in the NHL, it's a dream come true for these guys. But I thought they had a huge impact. I thought they played real well and I thought they fit in on the lines. Rutger's a good-sized kid that goes to the net and he was pretty good on the forecheck. He doesn't just throw pucks away. Ville is a smart player who sees the ice real well and plays a pretty good give-and-go game. I was curious to see how Ville would do with the pace and the size of the NHL and I thought he handled it extremely well. I look forward to watching him here more."

It's a beginning. Two beginnings, really. Been a while.

• There won't be a worse interference penalty called anywhere across the NHL than the one on Ryan Graves for literally colliding with Brady Tkachuk near the end of the second period:

As one player told me in the home locker room, "Amazing how he was perfectly fine for the power play to start the third."

Yep, but that's not the worst part of it. Calling a penalty based on a presumption is ... wow.

• The Senators won't last a round playing as passively as they did here. Backward, backward, backward ... per the Trent Green plan. Too bad because there's talent there.

• Want a good laugh? Watch Sid's winner again, but only watch Erik Karlsson. He pretty much has to threaten Sid to put him into that shooting position. It's hilarious. Wish I'd have found him in the room to ask him about it.

• Once more, with gusto: This is the best hockey of Tristan Jarry's life. I don't care about Buffalo. I really don't care about Tampa, where only one of those goals was a dud. I care about what's being seen here for nearly a month now. It's ... something.

• What a crowd, front to finish. Totally into it. Didn't expect that at all, for whatever reason, on my walk here. My mistake. This is still Pittsburgh.