The Pittsburgh Penguins fought through the malaise and messy hockey, which dragged both them and their opponent, the Vancouver Canucks, through the mud for most of the first 40 minutes.
And then players such as Tommy Novak, Anthony Mantha, and Connor Dewar scored goals. They were but footnotes in a singular game in which captain Sidney Crosby set the franchise’s all-time points record (when combining regular season and playoffs), and Kris Letang was humbled by becoming just the 20th defenseman in history to reach 600 assists.
But players with something to prove are the emerging story of this team.
While the stars got the attention and headlines, it is those players who have neither long contracts nor secure roster spots who have been pushing the Penguins forward.
Coach Dan Muse was a little taken aback by the question of whether a myriad of nobodies and hopefuls, the second-chance players and rookies, were creating their own culture and identity inside what is becoming this year’s Pittsburgh Penguins. A player’s contract status or their newness to the organization is of no concern to him.
“No matter what your contract is, no matter how long you’re here for, we want everybody playing for this jersey and for this city,” said Muse. “And I think guys are. That’s what we’re looking to build out. And so I think there are definitely guys in some different situations–I would hope that (they’d) be hungry if you’re getting a new opportunity. I think these guys are. I think they’re working to take advantage of the opportunity that they’ve earned here.”
It’s a fair answer from Muse. He also said to ask the guys inside the room if the new faces were forming an identity. Fortunately, Letang provided plenty of insight into the team with only a few sentences, but they spoke loudly.
The team, which was expected to be near the bottom of the league, is now 5-2-0 and beginning to win games in several different ways, from opportunistic scoring, puck pressure, and good goaltending.
“I mean, it’s just a different atmosphere than it used to be. A lot of guys are on deals that they have to prove themselves, you know? So there’s a lot of guys that play hungry every single night,” Letang said. “It’s also a new voice. You know, guys are coming to the rink and they want to get to know the system and they want to thrive in that new environment. So I just think it’s a different vibe than this room.”
After seven games, the Penguins have a positive plus-4 goal differential. They are among the four Metro Division teams with 10 points, placing them third, ahead of the Washington Capitals, and a few points clear of the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs in the wild card standings.
Whether or not that pace is sustainable is not the question because it’s not. A .714 winning percentage is almost impossible for any team to keep up and certainly not one with Justin Brazeau as a second line winger, or Caleb Jones as a third pairing defenseman, or Arturs Silovs, a young cast off goalie who couldn’t crack the Vancouver depth chart over the last two seasons.
After all, who are they?
“It’s just like, you know, the work I put in during the summer, during the practices, and to actually execute and feel confident in my game–I think it’s great to show that it helps me in the game,” Silovs said of his second chance to become an NHL regular.
But second chances are a common theme in the Penguins’ room.
Brazeau has five goals in seven games, and none have been fluky, nor does this appear to be an aberration hot streak. He is showing soft hands and an ability to make good shots when the opportunity arises.
The new faces don’t stop with Brazeau, Jones, or Silovs, who stopped 23 of 24 shots for his third win of the season. The conversation continues with Mantha, who scored his third goal in seven games. Ryan Shea, a 28-year-old defenseman who is already just one point shy of a career high four points.
“I think there’s a lot of guys trying to prove what they are in this league and trying to find their way,” Brazeau told PHN. “I think there’s a lot of people in here that know that they can be more than what they have been labeled to start. So I think anytime you have that, and we have a good mixture with obviously the three guys in here that have done so much in their career, and the guys who are just starting, so I think it’s kind of a cool mixture.”
But wait, there’s more.
Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon has been a revelation as the second-pairing defenseman beside Erik Karlsson. Wotherspoon spent five seasons in the AHL before spending time with the Boston Bruins, their AHL affiliate, and in the Bruins press box as a healthy scratch. He has three assists in seven games and is frequently in the proper position to nullify any chances that may arise from overaggressive forwards or defense partners.
The fourth line with Connor Dewar, Blake Lizotte, and Noel Acciari registered the first Penguins goal of the game. They have also been the Penguins’ most consistent line, providing energy and physicality. The goal was merely another bonus.
Dewar, 26, had one goal over two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs before the Penguins acquired him last season. He already has two goals and three points in seven games this season.
None of the aforementioned players, except the 38-year-old Letang, is signed beyond next season. In fact, most are on contracts that expire after this season.
For a team that was projected to crater, to finish near the bottom of the standings, that’s not happening. The team has quietly bristled at the low expectations and their dismissal by pundits. It’s been a few bits of coal on fire.
“We didn’t do a lot of listening to the outside people. I think we’re just kind of taking the game by game, shift by shift, and I think we’ve done a good job executing that,” said Brazeau. “We can just keep going with that.”
And the rookies are making a strong case for their seasons to remain in the NHL. Ben Kindel has been a solid third-line center with bouts of greatness. Harrison Brunicke is still fighting some juniors habits to hold onto pucks a couple of heartbeats too long, but his skill and talent are undeniable.
There’s just a lot different this season, including new coach Dan Muse, who could not be more personally different than the commanding former coach Mike Sullivan.
Maybe the group of underdogs with a boulder-sized chip on their shoulder and all-time greats at the top of the lineup can surprise. Maybe they fade. But it does not seem they will give up their chances without a fight.
On a night when an old specter of giving up the first goal on the first shot showed up like a haunting ghost of past trauma, the new faces and hungry players rebuffed the past, charting a new course that ignores all conventional wisdom and past assessments.
It is a new Penguins, for better and worse, which is right now … much, much better.
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