When the Penguins acquired Jeff Carter in their lone trade deadline deal, it seemed like some fans had déjà vu to the bad Patrick Marleau deal from last season, based off of some of the reactions I saw online
More draft picks traded for another aging veteran forward in the final years of his career, a move aimed at adding some depth and experience for a playoff run.
That's where the similarities end, though.
Carter fills a need the Penguins have, debuting on Thursday night as second-line center while injured centers Evgeni Malkin and Freddy Gaudreau remain sidelined.
And if his performance in Thursday's 2-1 shootout loss to the Flyers at PPG Paints Arena was any indication, Carter has the potential to make real, significant contributions on this team.
Carter didn't pick up any points in Thursday's loss, but I thought he had a great debut.
Mike Sullivan did as well.
"Overall I thought he had a pretty good game for us," he said. "You can see how he's going to help us become a better hockey team. I think the more familiar he gets with how we're trying to play, I think it's just going to help him even more moving forward. We're real excited to have him as part of the group."
The Penguins didn't ease Carter into the lineup much at all. He had the fifth-most ice time of any Penguins forward at 17:54, and he played on the second power-play unit and had some shorthanded time, as well.
"I think in the first period I felt like I was standing still thinking about systems and stuff like that, trying to figure out where I was supposed to go," Carter said. "The second period, I think I just started to play hockey and use my speed. That's when we started creating some chances as a line. From there on, I thought we did a pretty good job of keeping things going north and attacking the net. It's something to build on, for sure."
I asked Carter more specifically about how he feels he's adjusting to the system, and he said he felt like he started to grasp it as the game went on.
"Definitely going to have to sit down tomorrow and the next couple of days and watch some stuff with the coaches and my linemates and just figure it out a little bit more," he said.
He had the two days following the trade to focus a little on the systems, but it's also taken some time to adjust to the trade in general.
"It's been a little bit of a whirlwind getting out here," he added. "A couple skates, then right into it. Then trying to figure out all the logistics for family-wise and whatnot. I'm glad I got in tonight and got the first one over, now settle in here and get going."
One of the biggest things that stood out for me in Carter's game was his speed. It's not just that he has good speed for a 36-year-old veteran, he has good speed in general, and that's why he was on the ice for the Penguins in the three-on-three overtime period.
"He brings tons of speed," Kris Letang said.
"I think his skating ability really stands out," Sullivan said.
Something we knew Carter could add was his ability to just shoot the puck. Even if those shot attempts go wide or are blocked, just attempting to shoot as often as he does creates more movement on the ice and can lead to more opportunities to shoot for his linemates, too.
Carter attempted four shots in Thursday's game at five-on-five, and all four were classified as scoring chances, statistically. Two connected for shots on goal, and two missed the net, including a wraparound chance in the opening minutes of the game. His linemates, Jared McCann and Jason Zucker, also generated offense with Carter on the ice. McCann attempted seven shots at five-on-five, and six were shots on goal, the most on the team. Zucker attempted one shot, a high-danger attempt, one that also reached the goal.
"He's got real good hands, he can still shoot the puck extremely well," Sullivan said. "They generated a number of scoring chances."
Another thing that stood out about Carter's debut was his work in the faceoff circle. Carter began his career as a center, but had been used as a wing in recent years in Los Angeles and was taking draws infrequently this season. Before the trade, he took just 95 faceoffs in 40 games this season, winning 46.3 percent of them, unusually low for him in his career. He especially struggled with defensive-zone draws, winning only 29.4 percent.
"I thought he did pretty well in the faceoff circle," Sullivan said. "Especially given that he hasn't taken a lot of draws this year."
In this game, though, Carter had the best faceoff numbers of all Penguins centers and had a success rate of at least 50 percent in all zones and situations. He won nine of 13 draws overall for a success rate of 69 percent, going 80 percent in the offensive zone and 67 percent in the defensive zone. He won two of three draws he took shorthanded, and won the only one he took in overtime. All were crucial moments, and he won those important draws.
He drew some strong praise from his new teammates.
"I always thought highly of Jeff," Letang said. "He's a really good player on both sides of the puck. He fits in every aspect of the game. He can play across the lineup on the first, second, or third line. ... He's good around the net. I think we saw everything tonight. I just think with more practice and the more we play games, he's going to get more chemistry with his teammates and get better."
"He's an awesome player, and an awesome guy," Tristan Jarry said. "To see what he brings to the team, he had a couple of good rushes tonight and some good breakouts. I think he just completes our team. He brings us all together and I think he brings a lot to us."
Carter was asked about what he'll remember most from his Penguins debut, and he pointed to the way his teammates have treated him since the trade as one of the highs.
"It's just a lot of fun," he said. "Since Day 1 you can tell how close these guys are here when I walk in the room. Everybody has been great to me, welcoming me into the team and whatnot. It was fun to get out there and play in front of some fans at home here. It was awhile since I did that, so that was exciting. I wish we could have finished the job tonight, but it was definitely a fun experience."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• The Penguins didn't get their first shot of the game until there was less than six minutes left in the first. The first period as a whole was sloppy, with neither team getting great opportunities. The Flyers led in shots, 5-3, and there was no score after the first 20 minutes.
• Sidney Crosby scored the Penguins' lone goal in the second period, assisted by Letang, Brian Dumoulin ... and associate head equipment manager Jon Taglianetti. I have a whole separate file on that here with a couple of video clips because it was such a cool moment.
• Jakub Voracek scored the lone goal in regulation for the Flyers in the opening minutes of the third period.
• The Penguins spent the last 1:57 of the overtime period on the penalty kill when Crosby got called for a trip. Cody Ceci had a huge block near the end of overtime.
• The Penguins opted to shoot first in the shootout. Jake Guentzel scored in the first round for the Penguins, and Claude Giroux scored for the Flyers. Crosby was stopped in the second round and Sean Couturier scored. Letang was stopped in the top of the third round, giving the Flyers the win.
• Jarry made 26 saves on 27 shots.
"There are some highs and lows to every game," Jarry said of the flow. "I think we were trading chances for a little bit. They got some good offensive zone time and we got some offensive zone time. They were trying to put as many pucks to the net as possible and I think our D were doing a great job of boxing out and stealing the ice as best we could. I think it was a good game for us."
• Carter Hart stopped 31 of 32 shots. Jarry was asked about Carter's performance, since the two train together in the offseason, and his assessment was short.
"He played well."
Letang offered a bit lengthier assessment of Hart's play.
"Their goalie was really, really good tonight," he said. "He made a lot of key saves on different 2-on-1s during the game, odd-man rushes."
• Zach Aston-Reese led with four hits. No other Penguins skater had more than two.
• A redirected shot hit Flyers forward Nolan Patrick in the head in the third period and he left the game. Alain Vigneault said after the game that Patrick was "fine."
• After Dumoulin lost Mustache Boy for the month of April, Letang shaved his beard into a mustache in solidarity, saying he did so because his partner lost. Letang's mustache lasted all of two weeks. Completely gone now, Dumoulin's on his own for the rest of April. Bryan Rust's sentence for the shootout drill lost in mid-March ends April 19, so he can shave in a few days.
• Anytime the Flyers are in town, I notice that Voracek makes a point to toss several pucks over the glass to Penguins fans during warmups, endearing himself to the city one fan at a time.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Video highlights
• NHL scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE THREE STARS
As selected at PPG Paints Arena:
1. Carter Hart, Flyers
2. Jakub Voracek, Flyers
3. Sidney Crosby, Penguins
THE INJURIES
• Defenseman Mark Friedman is day-to-day with an upper-body injury sustained on March 4. He's resumed practicing with the team.
• Forward Evgeni Malkin is week-to-week with a lower-body injury sustained on March 16. He's resumed skating and is expected to resume before the end of the regular seasons.
• Forward Kasperi Kapanen is week-to-week with a lower-body injury sustained March 24. He's resumed skating on his own.
• Forward Brandon Tanev is week-to-week with an upper-body injury sustained on April 3. He's not expected to return before the end of the regular season.
• Forward Freddy Gaudreau is week-to-week with a lower-body injury sustained on April 11.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Jared McCann-Jeff Carter-Jason Zucker
Zach Aston-Reese-Teddy Blueger-Evan Rodrigues
Colton Sceviour-Mark Jankowski-Sam Lafferty
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Mike Matheson-Cody Ceci
Marcus Pettersson-John Marino
And for Vigneault's Flyers:
James van Riemsdyk-Sean Couturier-Joel Farabee
Claude Giroux-Kevin Hayes-Jakub Voracek
Scott Laughton-Tanner Laczynski-Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom-Nolan Patrick-Wade Allison
Ivan Provorov-Justin Braun
Robert Hagg-Travis Sanheim
Shayne Gostisbehere-Philippe Myers
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will practice in Cranberry on Friday at noon. They'll play the Sabres in Buffalo on Saturday and Sunday.
THE CONTENT
Visit our team page for everything.
