If you had blinked, you might have missed it Tuesday night in Newark.
It came just 40 seconds after Miles Wood's thoroughly dreadful goal, a shuffleboard shot that seeped its way through Matt Murray's five-hole to pull the Devils to within one late in the third period of what turned out to be a 4-3 Penguins victory.
It was then that Patric Hornqvist, from 8 feet out, pushed a Jared McCann centering pass on Keith Kinkaid just to the left of the net where the Devils' goalie easily turned it aside. It was the first and only shot on goal from Hornqvist in what's become an all-too familiar occurrence of late for the Penguins' struggling right winger.
Tuesday marked the 14th straight game that Hornqvist has gone without a goal and the 13th without even a point. It matched the longest such goal-less drought of his career. The previous skid came in the final games of the 2008-09 season when Hornqvist was just a 22-year-old rookie and long before he carved out his reputation as one of the NHL's fiercest and finest net-front presences.
Then again, that was also before a litany of upper body injuries and concussions that have followed in the decade since. Due in equal parts to his reckless style of play and to, well, just bad luck, he's suffered two concussions alone this season. If you're counting, that makes it five brain injuries since the start of the 2014 season. And those are just the ones that have been documented. That's a frightening number for anyone, let alone a human being in Hornqvist's line of work.
A 29-goal scorer a season ago, Hornqvist has just 15 goals in 47 games this season to go along with 11 assists and, for what it's worth, a career-worst minus-5 rating. He's been averaging 15:22 in ice time, or 1:23 less than his average during his four seasons in black and gold. And with 22 games remaining in this most star-crossed season, he's averaging 0.55 points per game, his lowest mark since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season when he averaged 0.57 with the Predators.
That might seem an ominous sign for a 32-year-old in the first year of a $26.5 million contract that still has four more years remaining, but not to the man who signed him to that extension last Feb. 27.
"The injuries have affected him," Jim Rutherford allowed during a wide-ranging interview with DKPittsburghSports.com Wednesday morning.
That said, Rutherford seemed confident that Hornqvist will soon rebound to form. Obviously, the Penguins would love to have him scoring, but as long as he's getting looks -- both at even strength and on the power play -- and playing with the same dogged determination, Rutherford isn't losing sleep. Besides, Hornqvist contributes in other ways that don't show up on a stat sheet. He doesn't wear a letter, but Hornqvist is one of the most respected voices in the room, according to Rutherford.
"I'm never concerned with Patric Hornqvist," Rutherford was telling me.
If anything, it's been Hornqvist's competitive spirit that seems to have been an issue. He suffered his latest concussion Jan. 8 against the Panthers when a shot ramped up his stick and struck him in the jaw. But then just eight days later, he rushed back, taking a red-eye flight to Arizona to join his teammates for a practice at Gila River Arena. Though he didn't play vs. the Coyotes on Jan. 18, he did get back in the lineup against the Golden Knights the following night in the final game of a season-long, five-game western road trip. That game marked the start of the Penguins' bye-week and the beginning of Hornqvist's drought.
“We’re always concerned when one of our players gets a concussion,” Mike Sullivan said at the time. “The nature of those injuries are that they are all different and all unique. Different people respond in different ways to them. Quite honestly, I don’t know enough about them to make any sort of assumption or conclusion moving forward. What I do hope for is Patric’s well-being, and that’s simply that he’s a good player and a terrific person. That’s always our priority and concern.”
Though his intentions may have been good, in hindsight, Hornqvist might have been better served taking more time off. The good news for the Penguins is that they are starting to see progress.
Hornqvist certainly hasn't been afraid to shoot the puck. Since the drought started, he's put up 30 shots on goal (2.3 per game). And he certainly hasn't toned down his tenacity. But over the last three games, the Penguins are starting to see results. The power play has gone 5-for-10 (50 percent), while he seems to have settled into a role on a new-look third line that has Nick Bjugstad centering Hornqvist and McCann, the left winger. Since the trio was assembled at the start of last weekend's back-to-back set, they've had a Corsi For percentage of 50.0 with nine high-danger chances for and five against.
"Over the last few games, I see him tracking in the right direction," Rutherford was telling me. "I like what I saw of him with Bjugstad and McCann together. That line's had good chemistry."
Bjugstad and McCann were acquired Feb. 1 from the Panthers in exchange for Derick Brassard and Riley Sheahan. Though it hasn't been all rosy since the trade, the Penguins seem to be ever so slowly starting to put it together. They have won four of their last five as set roles are starting to become defined.
"They've brought good energy," Rutherford was saying of Bjugstad and McCann. "They can skate. They play a good puck pursuit game. They've got some offensive skill where they can score. I think both players have fit in very nicely."
With the trade deadline coming up at 3 p.m. on Monday, it remains to be seen whether Rutherford will make any more transactions beyond the ones he's already made. His track record suggests he will, but the general manager wasn't tipping his hand on Wednesday. Either way, a healthy, motivated and agitated Hornqvist will be a nice addition.
"No, never concerned with Patric Hornqivst," Rutherford repeated.
