Penguins forward Drew O'Connor is centered on improving his position

The Boston Bruins always will offer significance to Pittsburgh Penguins forward Drew O’Connor.

A product of Dartmouth College, he made his NHL debut during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season at Boston’s TD Garden on Jan. 26, 2021.

O’Connor and the Penguins were edged 3-2 in overtime in front of a grand total of zero fans.

Because of the pandemic, NHL buildings were largely vacant for health concerns.

“An empty building,” O’Connor said. “TD Garden. That was a fun first game. Obviously, it was a little weird with no fans but yeah, it was a lot of fun.”

O’Connor was in a different place in his debut that night compared to his station Thursday when he made his 2022-23 season debut against the Bruins at PPG Paints Arena.

Back then, he manned the left wing of a fourth line that included Mark Jankowski at center and Colton Sceviour on the right wing.

On Tuesday, he opened the contest as the Penguins’ third-line center with Danton Heinen at left wing and Kasperi Kapanen on the right wing.

With veteran center Jeff Carter hobbled with an undisclosed injury, an opportunity was created for O’Connor to show off how well he has transitioned to the center position in his third professional season.

Largely a winger at the collegiate level, O’Connor has been working at the finer points as a pivot.

Much of that work has been focused on what is the most center-centric chore of all: faceoffs.

In 22 games last season, O’Connor took 52 faceoffs, winning only 18 of them (34.6%).

While O’Connor can use his ample 6-foot-3 and 200-pound frame to muscle his way to some wins, he has learned guile can serve him better than simple strength.

“I think just having a few different options of what you can do in the circle based on what you see (can help),” O’Connor said. “I was working with (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton assistant coach Kevin Porter), and he was helpful with that. Just having a few different options and kind of knowing what to expect and just knowing what to do in the circle.”

O’Connor, 24, also worked a bit with Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Matt Cullen last season. During his 21-year playing career, Cullen was a typically dominant force in the faceoff circle. A significant bulk of his current role is refining the Penguins centers and their faceoff skills.

“I worked with (Cullen) a lot last season when he was in town. Just kind of showing me some clips and videos of what I was doing as well as some other guys that are pretty good at draws. So that was helpful as well.”

Recalled Monday, O’Connor was summoned to the NHL club in part to help the penalty kill. With Carter as well as sturdy defensive center Teddy Blueger sidelined with maladies, the Penguins’ lone incumbent option for short-handed draws is Ryan Poehling. Franchise center Sidney Crosby is certainly capable of taking faceoffs in all situations, but Penguins coaches would prefer to spare him the wear and tear typically associated with penalty killing.

O’Connor professes confidence he can fill the void on the penalty kill.

“We play a pretty similar style (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) on the penalty kill. In that aspect, it’s helpful that I don’t have to change too much. I think I have a pretty good grasp of it. I’ve been able to work with (assistant coach Mike) Vellucci a lot on video and stuff, getting to know it.”

No one knows how long O’Connor’s current deployment will last. The healthy of Carter and Blueger, as well as the Penguins’ other centers, will dictate that.

What O’Connor is certain of is that he expects to make the most of being promoted to the NHL club once again.

“It just makes you kind of value the opportunity a little bit more,” O’Connor said. “They’re not always there. So, you’ve got to make the most of it when you do get that opportunity. For sure, there’s some motivation.”

Note: In addition to Carter, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang was scratched because of an undisclosed illness. His absence snapped the team’s longest streak of consecutive regular-season games played at 83. Oddly enough, Carter had the second-longest streak at 58 games. Forward Bryan Rust took over as the team’s “iron man” at 55 games. … Penguins rookie forward Sam Poulin was a healthy scratch.