Unless he made a quick trip to Wisconsin or California – and I’m pretty sure he didn’t – Kris Letang did not successfully pick the winning Powerball numbers. But Letang did foresee something else that occurred Wednesday night.
Okay, I am taking a bit of poetic license here since it isn’t like Letang predicted that Bryan Rust would score twice, the remarkable Evan Rodrigues would score again and that a bloodied Sidney Crosby would score a goal and pick up an assist – “beast mode,” per Mike Sullivan. But it was something else Letang brought up the other day that rang true – a come-from-behind victory.
After the Pens’ eighth wins of this hot streak – even with a shorthanded line-up - Letang was asked how they’ve been able to do it and what kind of potential this team has when (if) they are ever even close to fully healthy.
“I can’t really give you a sense (with words),” he responded, “but I can tell you right now we have a lot of character in that room. A lot of guys stepped up and played bigger roles, have done really well.
You look at a guy like ERod. With all the adversity we’ve faced, we don’t even know our potential.”
Rodrigues, of course, has been nothing less than terrific, producing in a variety of roles, whether it’s as a winger for Crosby or Jeff Carter or as a center, anywhere from the first to the fourth line. Beyond ERod, who is second on the team with 1 goals and 28 points, Danton Heinen and Brock McGinn are tied for third with 9 goals. (They are also 3 of the 4 Penguins who have appeared in every game; John Marino is the other.)
But back to the aforementioned potential and how he can tell if a team has a legitimate chance to contend for a Stanley Cup. Letang says this year’s group reminds him to a recent Cup winner. “The feeling I had in 2016 was even if after the first period, second period, we were down by 3, down by 2, there was no panic,” he explained. “We believed in our system, we believed in each other, we played the same way and we knew we were going to win those games.”
Then, viola, the next night, the Pens fall behind, 2-0 in the first period and 3-1 after the second, then scored 4 unanswered goals to beat St. Louis – a pretty fair team – 5-3. It was actually the first time they’ve had to come from behind during the 9-game streak and it’s the first time this season they’ve rallied from 2 goals down in the third period to win.
After Letang has brought it up Tuesday, Sullivan was also asked how he can tell if a team has the goods. “It’s hard to articulate that in words but when you’re around it, you feel it,” he agreed. “When you have that chemistry it gives you an opportunity to win and do great things. I sense the same thing that Tanger senses; I can feel the chemistry with this group we have this year.”
The Penguins certainly have it now; they haven’t lost since November and they’re getting healthier, with Carter out of Covid protocol and Evgeni Malkin likely to return within a week. But the Pens were in the same spot not that long ago.
“Last year we had the feeling that we had the team,” said Letang and I remember him (and other teammates) having that same feeling, especially after Carter joined the team. Sullivan had it, too.
The problem was – a team can have the best chemistry and all it takes to spoil it is poor goaltending. As fun as this regular season has been, we won’t know for sure if the problem will be solved until the playoffs.