After nearly 2 years, Penguins ready for a big challenge in the Hurricanes

Quite a bit has happened since the last time the Pittsburgh Penguins stepped on the ice with the Carolina Hurricanes.

And much of it has nothing to do with hockey.

March 8, 2020, was less than two years ago.

In some ways, it feels like it was two dozen centuries ago.

On that sunny Sunday in late winter, the Hurricanes came into PPG Paints Arena and put up a touchdown minus the extra point, beating the Penguins, 6-2.

To put things in perspective, one of the two goals the Penguins scored that day was tallied by forward Patrick Marleau. It was the only goal the future member of the Hockey Hall of Fame would score in his brief and disappointing tenure with the team.

Also in the lineup that day were forwards Nick Bjugstad, Patric Hornqvist, Jared McCann, Conor Sheary and Brandon Tanev as well as defensemen Jack Johnson and Justin Schultz, all since departed.

A rookie forward by the name of Morgan Geekie made his NHL debut for the Hurricanes and scored twice, only amplifying the Penguins’ woes, who were in the midst a squalid 2-8-0 skid at the time. Current Penguins forward Brock McGinn, then a member of the Hurricanes, recorded an assist on a goal by forward Justin Williams, now retired.

And the Penguins wore yellow.

It was a rotten way for the Penguins to start the week, and it only got worse by the end of the week.

For everyone.

About four days later, the sports world — if not the entire world — shut down in essence because of the pandemic.

“I don’t have a lot of recollection of that game,” coach Mike Sullivan said Saturday. “It seems like it was an eternity ago. But a lot has changed in the world. A lot has changed in the world of hockey.

“I’ll tell you what hasn’t changed is that the Carolina Hurricanes are a really good hockey team. They were really good then, they’re really good now. We know we’ve got a really big challenge ahead of us.”

Because of the pandemic, the NHL canceled the final months of the regular season for the 2019-20 campaign. As a result, the Penguins and Hurricanes met only once that season. And with the NHL restricting the 2020-21 regular season to division-only play, the Penguins and Hurricanes did not cross paths at all.

As it was, the Penguins won the temporary East Division while the Hurricanes were moved to the Central Division and finished in first place of that group.

Now reunited in the Metropolitan Division, the foes will square off Sunday afternoon while duking it out for first place.

Each squad has 70 points, albeit with the Hurricanes (48) playing three fewer games than the Penguins (51).

For their part, the Hurricanes don’t look at Sunday’s matchup as anything vital to the standings. That’s because they largely aren’t looking at the standings.

“It’s just so irrelevant at this point,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said to media in Raleigh, N.C. “I’ll look at it when we get to the end. But right now, you’ve got to go play your game. Go win your games. If you win enough of them, points won’t really matter.”

What has mattered to the Hurricanes’ success?

“They put a lot of pressure on other teams to make mistakes then they capitalize,” McGinn said. “Just the work ethic in that dressing room is good, and I think (Brind’Amour) has them all working at a high pace.”

That pace has become the calling card of the Hurricanes since Brind’Amour took over in 2018. Having missed the postseason nine consecutive seasons before Brind’Amour became coach, the Hurricanes have reached the playoffs the past three and are in position to extend that streak to four.

“They have a real balanced attack,” Sullivan said. “They have a very mobile defense corps. They’re well-coached. They play an in-your-face game in all three zones. They’re very aggressive, and they’re going to challenge their opponents to be that aggressive. And they’ve had success with their team game. They’re a four-line team, and they’re deep.

“They have, I think, some players on their team that the hockey world is starting to recognize as elite players. Players like (forward Sebastien) Aho, for example, or (forward Andrei) Svechnikov or (defenseman Jaccob) Slavin on the blue line. These guys are really, really good players. They’re some of the better players in the league, and their games are evolving. Those are the reasons why they’ve had success. They’ve got a really good team game, and they have a balanced game. That’s a pretty good recipe for success.”