Penguins choose to play physical at right times

TAMPA, Fla. — It might have been the fastest Marcus Pettersson has skated in a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey.

Granted, he is not a leviathan on skates like Hal Gill. But at the same time, Pettersson doesn’t remind anyone of a sailfish on ice a la Paul Coffey, either.

Regardless, Pettersson darted toward the benches like he had a Mercury Mariner engine strapped to his back during the early stages of Sunday’s 4-3 road win against the Washington Capitals.

The reason was simple. He wanted to defend his teammate — and one of his closest friends — Patric Hornqvist.

About midway through the first period, with the game scoreless, Capitals forward Lars Eller thumped Hornqvist from a vulnerable position into the boards several moments after Hornqvist released a puck up ice. Hornqvist crashed into the boards, his face near the dasher, and collapsed on the ice.

(Video courtesy NHL)

Pettersson steamed his way from the defensive zone to the space reserved for broadcasters between the team benches and grabbed Eller.

Pettersson didn’t pummel Eller. But he put a firm bear hug on him, and they jostled a bit before officials whistled play dead and gave Eller an interference minor.

“That one, I kind of got (Eller), just held him because I didn’t know if we were getting a (power play),” Pettersson said. “Then I saw (Hornqvist) get up right away. I didn’t see the hit right away. I heard everyone screaming. You’ve got to pick your moments. If you see it’s a real bad one, you’ve got to stick up for your teammate.”

The rest of the game pretty much went that way. The Capitals initiated the bulk of the contact, and the Penguins responded, when appropriate.

Midway through the third period, with the Penguins up 3-2, Capitals forward Tom Wilson, a longtime nemesis, clobbered Kris Letang in the Penguins’ left corner as Letang tried to play a puck out of the zone.

(Video courtesy NHL)

There was no reaction by the Penguins. Letang simply took a hit to make a play.

“(Letang) made a great hockey play,” Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson said. “Taking a hit to make a play. That’s what a hockey player does. That’s a form of toughness, too. Retaliating isn’t always a form of toughness. Sometimes, taking a hit and getting right back at it is just as much a form of toughness.”

The Penguins will face a skilled but rambunctious Tampa Bay Lightning squad Thursday night at Amalie Arena. The Lightning agitated the Penguins frequently during the teams’ previous meeting, a 3-2 home win by Tampa Bay on Oct. 23.

(Video courtesy NHL)

Lightning players such as forwards Patrick Maroon and Cedric Paquette largely are in the NHL for their ability to vex the opposition.

“First off, we know how Washington plays,” forward Evgeni Malkin said. We played a long time against Washington in playoffs. We always know it’s always a physical game. They have a couple of tough players. They play physical.

“We understand (Thursday against the Lightning) is probably a physical game, too. Every team is different. … We need to be physical, too. Not kill people but go through people. We need to show we’re not a soft team. It’s not every shift, but if you have a chance, play physical. (Hornqvist) does it. I try myself sometime. We need to show we’re not soft.”

Like a lot of teams in the modern NHL, the Penguins don’t have a designated fighter, especially after rugged defenseman Erik Gudbranson was jettisoned via an October trade.

But they profess they know how to deal with the rough-and-tumble ways of teams such as the Lightning, Capitals, Boston Bruins, Columbus Blue Jackets and others. It just might be a more subtle way than those teams.

“You’ve got to be physical,” forward Sidney Crosby said. “We might not have to lead every game in hits, but I think when there’s a time to hit and be physical, we’ve got to make sure that we do that and be able to take hits to make plays. There’s different scenarios when you feel like you need to be physical. We’ve done a good job of doing that when we need to. But also not retaliating when you know that you’re going to get a shift against guys that run around a little bit. Maybe a shift or two later, doing the same thing, finishing a couple of hits. It depends on the flow of the game, but I think overall, we’re a better team when we do have an edge.”

Figuring out the balance of when to respond can be difficult.

“Usually you learn that lesson pretty early on,” Johnson said. “Whether you heed that lesson or not is a different story. As the stakes get higher, things like that get more and more important. You’re going to get chances to hit guys back. It doesn’t always have to be retaliation. The retaliation is the one that always gets called (as a penalty). It just is.”

Said Pettersson: “You want to play in those games where the hitting is hard. Sometimes, you don’t want to respond that way. You want to respond by scoring goal. Or just getting up. You saw (Letang), he just got up and made the play too.”

Responses aren’t always required in the immediate sense, either. Receipts can be redeemed at later dates.

“It’s frustrating to see when a teammate gets hit like that,” forward Jared McCann said. “Obviously, you want to step up for him. But sometimes, the team game has to overlap the individual game. I truly feel that what goes around, comes around. It could be another game down the road.”

The Penguins never have been a brutish team under coach Mike Sullivan. And they’ve flirted with the notion of adding physical players such as Gudbranson or forward Ryan Reaves under general manager Jim Rutherford, usually to little success.

It’s just not part of their identity as presently constructed.

At the same time, the Penguins appear comfortable in how and when they respond to those tactics.

“I’ve been on the other side (playing against the Penguins), particularly against this group,” said Johnson, formerly a member of the Blue Jackets. “These guys aren’t going to shy away. Guys like Sid and Geno, you’re just going to make them mad and sometimes, even better.”

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