Kovacevic: Remember Jason Zucker the out-of-luck, overpaid luxury? Yeah, well, he's now these Penguins' pulsating engine

"We're still lucky people, man. We get to play a game for a living. I never forget that."

It's not always easy to get Jason Zucker to smile in a casual, non-competitive setting. And I'd hardly blame him, with all he's endured over a dozen-year NHL career that's seen him dropped from more figurative cliffs than Wile E. Coyote for a brutally high percentage of it.

But I couldn't help but catch the lips slide upward at least a little with those words above, all shared with me a few minutes after his goal, his assist, his soul-crushing check and his multiple roof-raising celebrations put forth the most passionate component to the Penguins' 5-4 flipping of the Canucks on this Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena.

Having fun yet? Given ... you know?

"Oh, yeah, for sure," he'd reply. "For me, I've got to stay healthy. I can't contribute if I'm not in the lineup. I know that."

Right. And so far, so healthy halfway through the schedule: 40 games for the team, 36 games for Zucker. To boot, he's been ... well, pretty much what everyone expects he'll be if he can just avoid random anvils dropping onto his skull every time he'll stroll under a ladder.

The goal was his 10th, finishing off an Evgeni Malkin faceoff to tie the score at 3-3 within the same first period that'd seen the Canucks put up the first three:

Those fist-pumps he carried into the corner came with more force than that floater of a shot, but the broader point stood.

"Honestly, I thought we came out pretty good. I don't think we were playing that poor. They capitalized on their chances, and we didn't," Zucker would say, one of many who'd find a diplomatic way to dance around Casey DeSmith having been benched -- in favor of fresh AHL arrival Dustin Tokarski -- after conceding three goals on seven shots. "We found ourselves down three. It wasn't good enough. But it was good for us to respond the way we did."

So was this, a mere minute later:

Oh, my. And that was clean, too, even if Conor Garland, the dude wearing those tire tracks, and a few other Canucks barked about it for a bit. 

Honestly, I might've preferred this response over the goal, at least in the moment. Because it was this response that yet again underscored the legit unique-to-this-team role that Zucker's assumed in being "the one who's capable of dragging us into the fight," as Mike Sullivan had eloquently described him following the Dec. 20 victory over the Rangers. Another one that'd opened with some lethargy but soon had all kinds of life, thanks in large part to the No. 16 buzzing all over creation.

That's so much of what he offers: Beyond the 10 goals, 16 assists and more advanced metrics that underscore his commitment to puck pursuit, he'll make his voice heard on the bench, and then he'll back it up by making his skates churn that much louder. Both are noticed. Both tend to be followed.

"When Zuck plays the game the way he did tonight, when he plays with a bit of reckless abandon, he's just a north-south guy," Sullivan would say after this one. "He gets in on the forecheck. He's good in the battle areas. He's physical. He goes to the net. I think he creates so much for Geno's line, in particular, because he drags those guys into it."

That term again. Referencing Geno and Rickard Rakell.

"And he creates a lot of stalled pucks and loose pucks in the offensive zone that give Geno and Raks an opportunity to do what they do best," Sullivan continued. "But for me, I think Zuck, in a lot of ways, is the catalyst there because of the straight-ahead game that he plays and the edge that he plays with. And he has scoring touch. The goal he scored in Arizona was a perfect example, a goal-scorer's goal."

No doubt. Arguably his sharpest of the winter:

"So he's bringing a lot to us right now."

Heck, I haven't even gotten to the assist that set up among the easiest of Geno's 458 career goals, the one that put the Penguins up to stay at 7:58 of the second:

Mm-hm. Starts with Geno picking the pocket of Vancouver's Ilya Mikheyev, elevates with Zucker calling for the drop pass -- as he'd explain to me later -- but then, the criss-cross and all the rest ... that's just hockey chemistry. And these two have had it for as long as they've both been fortunate enough to share the same sheets of ice.

"Oh, he's unbelievable," Geno'd say of Zucker when that sequence was broached.

This wouldn't have been easy to predict, of course. Zucker's turning 31 this weekend, he's in the final year of a five-year contract signed with the Wild that's come with a $5.5 million annual cap hit and, most painful in so many ways, he participated in only 79 of the Penguins' 138 total games over the previous two seasons. And all this after Jim Rutherford had sent to Minnesota a first-round pick in the NHL Draft to get him.

No one could've been blamed for wanting him gone. And in fact, more than a few fans called over the past summer for Ron Hextall to try to trade him or even to buy him out rather than throw away all that vital cap space again. I'm not sure I'd have minded much myself it Hextall had done either of those.

Now look at the joy with which he's performing. And that's really the word that comes to mind, as well as the one I'd share with him after this.

"Yeah, for sure," he'd respond. "It's been a lot of fun. I mean, the wins help, too. Playing the way I do, that's why I do it. For the wins."

And to stay out there.

"I'm trying," he'd come back to that with a wink but no knock on any nearby wood.

JOE SARGENT / GETTY

Evgeni Malkin taps home a Jason Zucker feed for his second goal midway through the second period.

• Not to take anything away from the main man on that line: Geno's two goals, two assists and relentless commanding possession of the puck in all three zones made him an easy choice for No. 1 star.

"He was outstanding," Zucker would say. "All over the rink."

Geno's 28th career four-point game is fourth-most among all active players, trailing Sidney Crosby's 37, Alexander Ovechkin's 32 and Connor McDavid's 30. And his multiple-goal game was his 67th.

Speaking of players not everyone was in favor of keeping this past summer.

• I'm with Zucker that the Penguins' start wasn't anywhere near as awful as the 3-0 deficit would've indicated. DeSmith just didn't have it.

I'm also with Sullivan's general assessment: "I give our team a lot of credit. I'm proud of the group. It's not easy to dig yourself out of a three-goal deficit, especially under some of the circumstances. We've had a couple of real emotional days from a team standpoint. I couldn't be more proud of this group."

He referred to the team charter flying from Tempe, Ariz., after the Sunday evening game against the Coyotes, directly to Montreal to attend the Monday morning funeral of Kris Letang's father, Claude Foquet.

• Overcoming a three-goal deficit is one thing. Erasing it within the first period is something else entirely. The Penguins became the fourth NHL team in the past 10 years to pull it off, regular season or playoffs. And they did so for only the third time in franchise history, along with Dec. 20, 1987, in an 8-4 romp over the Rangers in New York, and Nov. 30, 1974, in a 5-5 tie with the Sabres at the Civic Arena.

• Sullivan did well to yank DeSmith when he did, rather than fearing what might happen with Tokarski, as he'd done in the past when goaltenders are promoted from Wilkes-Barre. Coincidence or not, the game's pendulum swung back instantly and violently with the switch. And Tokarski, to his credit, did well to stop 18 of 19 shots the rest of the way, including two partial breaks for Elias Pettersson.

• One of those saves was a shot into the blocker ... during which he'd lost his catching glove and still extended his exposed hand if it'd been needed.

Had to ask how smart this was:

"I don't know what happened there," he replied after a big laugh. "I was scrambling. Glove fell off. ... I was lucky there."

• Anyone else tired of seeing NHL teams/players feel like they've got to pursue retribution for even the most routine -- and obviously legal -- bodychecks?

I asked Zucker and loved both sides to his answer:

"Honestly, if they didn't say something about it, they're not doing their job, either. So I don't blame them," he replied. "At the same time, I think, it's definitely changed a little bit. But I also think they were respectful about it and left it alone after that."

• The Canucks have four regulation wins in their past 20, and the loss after a three-goal first-period lead was a franchise first.

Operating without No. 1 goaltender Thatcher Demko hasn't helped and, in this case, Spencer Martin and his .881 save percentage was only able to survive 18 high-danger chances for the Penguins ... for about half a period.

“He had to make about ten 10-bell saves to keep us keep us in it," Bruce Boudreau observed. "And he did. He battled hard."

Martin didn't sound satisfied.

“I've got to make a couple saves. We’ve got to make more plays," he'd say. "Just can’t do that at this level.”

• An officiating decision is truly atrocious when it's panned by both sides.

With 4-5 seconds left in the second period, the Canucks' Jack Studnicka tripped Brian Dumoulin, plain as day:

Gord Dwyer, the referee observing this from a few feet away, saw it, too. Only he never raised his right arm because -- sit down for this -- he felt the period had basically elapsed. That there wasn't enough time on the clock for it to matter.

While the latter's correct in that Dumoulin wasn't about to bust it 150 feet down the ice and score, it doesn't come close to excusing an on-ice official arbitrarily inventing a guideline for existing rules. A penalty's a penalty's a penalty. And with the Penguins up by only two goals, they could've benefited from opening the third period on a power play.

Sid was livid and nearly chased Dwyer into the refs' tunnel at the Zamboni entrance, to which Dwyer repeatedly pointed to the clock. As if this somehow bolstered his case. Jeff Carter, hot as I've ever seen him, soon followed in the same pursuit.

What a league.

• Not that anyone would seek advice from this direction, but I'm starting Tokarski in the next game. Not so much because the Jets are here -- though Winnipeg's increasingly looking like a Stanley Cup contender in Rick Bowness' first year -- but because it's an easier segue for all involved to stick with the hot hand for another game, then go back to DeSmith the following night for a divisional game against the Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C.

See what I mean?

They'll split the games regardless. This just sticks with the flow, and no one's bubble gets burst.

• Besides, it's always cool to see the recall get rewarded:

Hear that 'BEST OF THE YEAR!' shout following Tokarski's, uh, speech?

That's Zucker. Does it every time. Which is just awesome.

• Thanks for reading my hockey coverage. We'll do it again on Winnipeg night.

DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS

The Zambonis hum as the scoreboard shows the final late Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE THREE STARS

As selected at PPG Paints Arena:

1. Evgeni Malkin, Penguins C
2. Jason Zucker, Penguins LW
3. Dustin Tokarski, Penguins G

THE INJURIES

• Tristan Jarry, goaltender, has a lower-body injury and has resumed skating, though not with the team.

• Jeff Petry, defenseman, is on long-term injured reserve with a wrist injury and has resumed skating, though not with the team.

• Josh Archibald, right winger, is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and has resumed skating, though not with the team.

• Ryan Poehling, left winger, has a lower-body injury and is not skating.

THE LINEUPS

Sullivan's lines and defense pairings:

Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker-Evgeni Malkin-Rickard Rakell
Drew O'Connor-Jeff Carter-Kasperi Kapanen
Danton Heinen-Teddy Blueger-Brock McGinn

Marcus Pettersson-Jan Rutta
Brian Dumoulin-Ty Smith
P.O Joseph-Chad Ruhwedel

And for Boudreau's Canucks:

Andrei Kuzmenko-Elias Pettersson-J.T. Miller
Ilya Mikheyev-Bo Horvat-Brock Boeser
Conor Garland-Sheldon Dries-Will Lockwood
Dakota Joshua-Curtis Lazar-Jack Studnicka

Quinn Hughes-Ethan Bear
Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Tyler Myers
Travis Dermott-Luke Schenn

THE SCHEDULE

The team's off Wednesday, there's a practice Thursday, 11 a.m., at PPG Paints Arena, and the Jets will be here the following night.

THE MULTIMEDIA

THE CONTENT

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