Penguins forward Evan Rodrigues would probably be among the first to acknowledge that is not an elite NHL player. But, thanks to his last name, he does have an elite nickname, usually reserved for baseball superstars.
Rodrigues, who doesn’t really profile as a scoring line winger, either, is known to his teammates as “E Rod,” as in A Rod (Alex Rodriguez) and K Rod (Frankie Rodriguez). So, with a nickname like that, I guess if he is going to play on one of the top 2 lines then he may as well act the part.
When Rodrigues first came back from his injury, he figured to bolster the team’s ineffective fourth line. But when Jared McCann left Sunday’s game against the Rangers with an upper body injury, Rodrigues received the battlefield promotion and now has an assist in two straight games.
Rodrigues says whether it’s the fourth or the first line, it’s all the same to him. “I think you play the game the same way no matter who you’re playing with,” Rodrigues shrugs. “You try to make the right, get pucks in and get pucks out, do all the right things and when you get your chances offensively you have to bury them. That’s the mentality I have to have if I want to have success and that’s the mentality I have going into every game.”
Oddly enough, Rodrigues’ assist Sunday night occurred when he found himself on the ice with McCann and Kasperi Kapanen late in the first period. He cruised through the slot creating a screen for John Marino’s goal that erased the early deficit.
Tuesday, Rodrigues started out with Evgeni Malkin and Kapanen and, as always, just kept it simple. “Obviously G is such an elite player and likes to have the puck on his stick,” Rodrigues explains, “so it’s just getting open, finding open areas knowing that he’ll find me if I put myself in good spots.”
In this case, it was Rodrigues collecting the puck in the corner and finding Malkin. “G” threaded a pass to Kapanen who deftly dragged the puck into shooting position before snapping a shot over Kevin Kincaid’s shoulder to give the Pens a 3-1 lead with 19 seconds left in the second period.
Consider the coach impressed. “It was one of the best shifts we’ve had all year,” Mike Sullivan says. “It was a clinic on puck possession and offensive zone play. All five guys were involved in the extended zone time and that wears teams down.”