When the Penguins snapped their six-game losing streak with a 7-3 win over the Senators on Tuesday, the order of players coming out of the tunnel and onto the ice looked a little different.
For the past 14 seasons, ever since Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been in the NHL, they have the final two players to come out of the tunnel, in that order.
On Tuesday, though, Patrick Marleau came out next-to-last, between Crosby and Malkin. It was Marleau's fourth game as a Penguin, and the order was switched on Crosby's suggestion.
"(Crosby) wanted to switch it up,” Marleau laughed. “It worked tonight, so we’ll see how long it lasts. ... I’ll do whatever these guys tell me."
The Penguins won that game, so Marleau again came out next-to-last on Thursday in Buffalo. The Penguins beat the Sabres, and Marleau again took the ice in the same spot for Saturday's game against the Capitals.
The Penguins lost 5-2 to the Capitals on Saturday, so Marleau's run in that spot coming out of the tunnel came to an end.
For Sunday's game against the Hurricanes, Crosby came out of the tunnel next-to-last, ahead of Malkin, in his usual spot. Kris Letang came out directly in front of Crosby, his usual spot, and Marleau skated onto the ice ahead of Letang.
These little superstitions are serious business.
