COLUMBUS, Ohio -- If Jim Rutherford -- or anyone -- wasn’t completely convinced before that Riley Sheahan could be a viable third-line center, he has to be now. Has to.
Sure, Derick Brassard would be great. But not worth-giving-up-Daniel-Sprong great.
Besides, there’s no way the Penguins are going to improve upon what Sheahan has provided the past three weeks or, in particular, Sunday night at Nationwide Arena, when he pumped in a pair of goals to beat the Blue Jackets, 5-2. Those gave him nine points -- four goals and five assists -- in his past 12 games, in addition to incalculable chemistry with more offensive-minded linemates Phil Kessel and Jake Guentzel.
Sheahan is what Mike Sullivan calls the "defensive conscience" of the third line, a balance that he's trying to strike on each of his top three lines. But as we've seen, Sheahan can play in both ends.
Here, on his first goal, Sheahan displays remarkable hand-eye coordination:
"(Guentzel and Kessel) hold on to the puck, they want you to hold on to the puck and make plays, too," Sheahan said. "So when you get the puck, the first thing you think of is creating a scoring chance and when you can convert. It can build your confidence."
Sullivan said Sheahan's confidence "should be at an all-time high."
So should the organization's confidence in Sheahan.
Tops on Rutherford's shopping list between now and next Monday's trade deadline should be a fourth-line center to put the finishing touches on what could be a third consecutive run for the Cup.
2. Rutherford need not worry about a goalie, either.
I've gone back and forth on this one since right after Thanksgiving when Matt Murray went down with a lower body injury.
Given Murray's injury history, a fairly compelling argument could be made to bring in a veteran backup just in case. The thinking went that, while Tristan Jarry certainly has a bright future, he is far too inexperienced to be the guy if need be in the playoffs.
Well, Jarry just keeps winning. How can Rutherford not go with that?
Sunday's game was Jarry's sixth win in his past seven starts, giving him 10 on the season, one away from the league lead among rookies.
And Jarry wasn't just along for the ride. The rapid-fire Blue Jackets, who set a record last week for most consecutive games with 50-plus shots in three consecutive games, made him work for it. Jarry, who hadn't started since a Jan. 17 loss in Anaheim, showed no signs of rust.
He stopped 35 of 37 shots including a quality scoring chance, a 15-foot slap shot from Lukas Sedlak. on the Blue Jackets' first shot.
But his best save came late in the first period on this pad stop of a Nick Foligno shot on a Columbus power play:
"We scouted them and could see that they were putting a lot of shots on net," Jarry said. "They had a couple 50-plus games, just been prepared for shots from anywhere. That's something Mike (Buckley) and I talked about before the game and throughout the week."
3. The legend of ZAR just keeps growing.
Zach Aston-Reese tried to tell me that his fourth goal in as many games was merely a fortunate bounce.
Perhaps, but look at where he’s standing. That's not an accident:
Not every player will do that. The 23-year-old plays much bigger than his 6-foot, 204-pound frame and plays with a bit of an edge. You have to to thrive in that area of the ice.
Aston-Reese is quickly becoming this year’s version of Guentzel. I asked the latter about the former:
The only thing Aston-Reese hasn’t done is struggle at the NHL level.
“I’m happy with the way everything’s worked out but I think sometimes it’s better to struggle,” Aston-Reese told me. “That’s where you learn all the good lessons. It’s pretty cliche, but I really appreciated my time down in Wilkes and my teammates.”
It just doesn’t look like he’ll be returning to his AHL teammates in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton anytime soon.
“I’m just having fun,” he said. “Whatever is in store for me, I’m ready for.”
4. The Penguins are more than just a power play.
You think of the Penguins and you think of high-end offensive talent and of the NHL's top-ranked power play. On Sunday, the Penguins won with Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel not registering a point while Evgeni Malkin was limited to just one assist.
They also won without getting a power-play opportunity. It was the first time all season without one. That it would come in a game against the Blue Jackets, a team that's basically built to not like them, makes it even more remarkable.
The Penguins scored all five of their goals at even-strength. Given some of their earlier struggles at 5-on-5 earlier this season, that's fairly impressive.
5. The Penguins will return here April 5.
That will be the penultimate game of the regular season. Just don’t look for them to be going back after that.
The Blue Jackets are a point out of the second wild card spot, but they do not look like a playoff team. Sunday's loss was their third straight and ninth in their past 11.
There is no shortage of talent on the roster -- Artemi Panarin, Seth Jones, Zach Werenski, Sergei Bobrovsky -- but not enough high-end skill up front. They work hard, but they just don't work smart.
Players might love playing for John Tortorella but you have to wonder if their volatile coach will be back. Torts is a free agent at season's end and one of the great characters in the game.
That said, he was fairly tame following this one:
