CRANBERRY, Pa. -- There won't be an HBK Part II.
If anything, the Penguins' likely new third line entering these Stanley Cup playoffs -- Jared McCann, Patrick Marleau and Patric Hornqvist -- would have more of a HMM feel to it.
As in, hmmmmm ... can they get it done?
McCann, speaking after the second day of the team's training camp Tuesday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, sure sounded optimistic when I asked how prominent a role he expects his line to have in any success this summer.
"It's gonna be huge, you know?" he replied. "We look at ourselves like the game-changers. We feel like we have something that a lot of teams don't. We've got that veteran presence with Patty, and with Horny, as well. I'm just trying to complement those guys as best I can."
And how, I pressed, might that look?
Because, as I pointed out, he'll be working with two wingers who've made a living carving straight lines to the crease and capitalizing. And realistically, I added, tossing in that McCann plays a similar style, it doesn't feel as if there'd be much tic-tac-toe component to what's at hand.
"We have plays," McCann replied. We're not going to take the stick out of each others' hands. We're going to make plays when we can. But when we've got to keep it simple, I feel like that's when we're going to be at our best. Whether I've got to put the puck on the net and let them go for it, I'm just trying to focus on complementing them as much as I can. Whether that's just throwing the puck at the net and those two are in front banging away, I'll do the rest."
Yet again, hmmmmm.
Look, there's no recreating HBK. For a bunch of reasons, not least of which is that the sport's evolved toward more mobile defensemen, and it's rare to see any blue line caught as flat-footed as what was often seen against the peak mix of Nick Bonino between Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel.
But there's still plenty to be said for deploying a third line that wears down the opponent's bottom defense pairing, sustains possession, draws penalties and maybe pops a goal or two. And it's beyond dispute that, for the Penguins to compete for the Stanley Cup, they'll need production -- meaning actual production -- from more than just the Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin lines.
Theoretically, two accomplished wingers should be a whale of a start. Marleau's headed to the Hall of Fame, and Hornqvist's ... Hornqvist. No need to insult anyone here with a recitation of their considerable creds. So from this perspective, they're not at all the issue.
Rather, my concern's twofold:
1. Chemistry
Belaboring the obvious, they've never shared a sheet of ice. Still haven't, actually, since Hornqvist's among the nine players being held out for a coronavirus precaution.
So trying to picture those three suddenly finding everything in time for Game 1 against the Canadiens, which is just a couple weeks away on the first of August, feels more like a hope than a plan.
Beyond that, as I broached above with McCann himself, I'm not feeling any glue effect in even figuratively fitting these three together. McCann's always been more comfortable at center, as he reiterated Tuesday, but that hardly means he's complete at the position. From faceoffs to defensive work to playmaking, there's work to be done, and that's to say nothing of finishing.
Which segues smoothly into ...
2. McCann isn't scoring
Remember that 22-game goalless streak he carried into the coronavirus shutdown?
Still going. The last goal came Jan. 14 in a blowout of the Wild, and the next one will come ... someday.
The pedigree's there, to be fair. The kid's 24 years old, and he scored 25 goals in his first 76 games after arriving in the trade with the Panthers. Those didn't come by accident, and there were a few beauties along the way, particularly via a devastating wrist shot he's shown from longer range. And to be further fair, he was creating countless chances in early March and couldn't buy a burial.
At the same time, it'd be nuts to think there'd be no carryover from such a crisis in confidence.
"That break was ... yeah, I hadn't scored in a while," McCann answered when asked about his past four months. "I went home, shot some pucks, and just kind of hit reset. I'm not the type of guy to dwell on something like that. I know I'm gonna get my opportunities, and I've gotta take advantage of them."
Mike Sullivan's confidence in McCann hasn't wavered, not tangibly or otherwise. Not then and not now.
“I think Jared is going to do a really good job at the center-ice position," the coach began on that subject Tuesday. "He’s very comfortable there. It’s his natural position. He’s played a lot of real good hockey for us, specifically, when he’s been playing at the center-ice position."
Regarding the slump, he added, "I think Jared is going to be fine. I felt as though Jared’s game was trending the right way right before the stoppage, as though it was a matter of time before Jared started scoring goals. The way we look at it, you can’t always control whether the puck goes in the net. All you can do is control the process. That’s the effort, the execution. Jared was getting pucks on the net. He was getting to the right areas on the rink. He was getting inside, which was something myself and Mark Recchi were talking to him about. I think Jared has a fresh start here, and he’s excited to get back on the ice."
And of the line, he added, "We think that line has an opportunity to be a difference-maker for us, and Jared being a big part of it.”
Maybe. We'll see. But I'll feel a lot better about it, probably, once we see more of this mix. Presuming Sullivan doesn't switch it up, and he reiterated Tuesday that lines aren't set. He hasn't elaborated on this, but I'm betting he, Recchi and Jacques Martin first want to see how well Jason Zucker fits alongside Malkin and Bryan Rust on the second line. If that isn't the case, then Marleau could slide back up with Malkin, where he was before the break.
For now ...
"I think they could potentially be a really important line for us," Sullivan said of McCann, Marleau and Hornqvist. "They're three really good players, and they all bring a little something different to the table. I think it could be a very good line for us, if that's a line we choose to put together."
If they choose?
Hmmmmm ...
MORE FROM DAY 2
• There was no sign of Hornqvist or the other eight players the Penguins held out of Day 1 for what the team called 'an abundance of caution' related to possible secondary exposure to coronavirus. There also was no further word on their status, individually or collectively.
• No players appeared to be hurt, either, and nothing changed with lines or pairings among the 23 active participants:
Guentzel-Crosby-Sheary
Zucker-Malkin-Rust
Marleau-McCann-Lafferty/Rodrigues
Aston-Reese-Blueger-Tanev
Dumoulin-Letang
Pettersson-Marino
Johnson-Schultz
And Sullivan still hasn't shown any special teams through two practices.
• This practice, in particular, was among the highest-tempo I can recall seeing under Sullivan. There was an intensive focus on competing within tight quarters, as he'd promised the previous day, not least of which was the following drill covering no more than a tiny quadrant of the rink:
The players acknowledged it was "a little different," as Marcus Pettersson worded it, to be back to contact after so many months apart and, even in the voluntary sessions before this camp, operating in small groups in which they were encouraged to stay spread out.
I asked Sullivan if he's maybe had to push guys to take that next step.
"No, I don't think so," he replied. "We've got players for whom that comes naturally. We talked on the ice about bringing back that edge to our group, being competitive against each other to prepare for what's to come. In order to get ready, they're going to have to put their bodies through that grind game."
• McCann and Marleau began bonding a long, long time ago.
"He gave me a puck once when I was 12," McCann revealed Tuesday.
True thing: McCann and family went to a Coyotes-Sharks game in Glendale, Ariz., and Marleau was kind enough to sign a puck for him. One that McCann recently uncovered in a family move and showed to Marleau.
• Pettersson said that he spent his time in Sweden mostly isolated, even though the government there had the most open policy in Europe toward conducting business as usual in the pandemic's early stages: "We kept to ourselves, trying to stay safe."
• Sullivan spoke effusively of Evan Rodrigues and Sam Lafferty, the two rotating through Hornqvist's vacant spot. "They're both very valuable. They can play up and down the lineup. As we all know, you don't win the Stanley Cup with 12, 6 and 2."
• There aren't words for how hard Malkin's skating through these two days. Not that he's alone, but he sure stands out when it's happening.
• Players did their Zoom interviews today without masks, unlike yesterday when all of them -- notably Crosby -- did. The NHL reached out to inform the Penguins that wasn't necessary in an isolated interview room like the one they've set up here.
• Speaking of the captain ...
... yeah, that's him on the ice a half-hour before practice. Not the norm for him. Even beat Rust out there.
MORE FROM CAMP
• Penguins-Canadiens get prime time
• Exhibition with Flyers marks NHL return
• Weber partly misses practice in Montreal
