Lars Eller wasn’t comfortable Saturday.

A lot of what happened that night went against his constitution as a hockey player.

Before a 3-2 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens at PPG Paints Arena, Eller was recognized for appearing in his 1,000th career game in a ceremony that included his family, management and teammates.

Under a literal spotlight, Eller did not enjoy being in the … well … spotlight.

“Just once every 1,000 games is OK,” Eller quipped after the game. “Everybody likes and appreciates recognition, but I don’t necessarily like all the spotlight. I see myself as a good soldier. It’s weird. In hockey, it’s always about the team, and you win together and you lose together. Some nights, it’s about the individual. But it’s odd for us as players.”

Eller is something of a wallflower, at least in the buttoned-down realm of hockey.

For the most part, he just wants to show up to the rink, do his stretches, tape his sticks and put himself in the best possible position to be the sturdy third-line center he has been throughout most of his career.

That typically has meant skating just north of 15 minutes a game, winning most of the faceoffs he takes, killing penalties and routinely reaching double-digits in goals.

Nothing remarkable. But highly reliable.

This approach has allowed Eller to become arguably the greatest Dane in the history of the NHL. And it’s why, at 34, he’s still largely the same player he was at 24.

“He’s just the ultimate professional at the rink,” said Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson, Eller’s teammate for parts of seven seasons in the Beltway. “He’s always dialed in, he’s always focused, he’s always on his game. He’s taking care of his body. Just a guy that I think a lot of people can look up to in that way (with) how long that he’s done it and how consistently he’s done it. He’s just a really good teammate.

“He never says, ‘Woe is me.’ He’s always focused on improving his game. He’s never looking at any of his teammates. He never brings any negativity to the rink. I played with him for a long time, and he was always just doing his thing and very positive. Someone that every teammate kind would like to be around. A good pro, a good teammate.”

The Penguins duked it out with Eller and the Capitals for much of the 2010s. The teams met in second-round playoff series over three consecutive seasons, and the winner of each entanglement wound up winning the Stanley Cup.

After the Penguins won back-to-back championships in 2016 and 2017, the Capitals finally won the franchise’s first title in 2018 thanks to Eller scoring the Stanley Cup-clinching goal against the Vegas Golden Knights approximately one month after dispatching the Penguins.

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Six years later, those Penguins weren’t terribly upset to see management sign Eller to a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $2.45 million.

“He plays the game the right way,” said Penguins forward Jake Guentzel. “It’s been fun to see a different side of him (having played) against him for a lot of years. Just a guy that does everything. Has a good skillset, a good 200-foot game.”

Eller’s game over those 200 feet remains sound in his mid-30s thanks to a recommitment to skating he took on a few years ago.

“He’s always been focused on adapting his game and doing what he needs to do,” Wilson said. “The last three to four years, he really focused on his skating. He realized the game was getting faster, and he put in a ton of time to improve his skating. Some guys don’t do that. Some guys are stubborn. Lars always has the ability of wanting to adapt and focus on how he can improve his game. That’s something that I saw from Day 1 playing with him. He’s a pro’s pro.”

When Eller shares his thoughts on skating, he doesn’t come off like a third-line center. He sounds more of a coach (with a kinesiology degree).

“Obviously, in your head and the way you think the game is most important,” Eller said. “But when you’re a centerman, you’ve got to get up and down the ice. You’ve got to be a pretty good skater. When I came in, it was a lot more straight lines. Lots of up-and-down, straight line, shoot from the flank. Now, it’s more you have to be able to utilize crossovers all the time. Change angles.

“Crossovers are very valuable. If you can build up speed crossover-wise and change speeds, quickness — not necessarily your top speed — but your first three breakaway steps laterally or diagonally are very important, I think, to get separation. And if you can get separation, you can get more time and space. And time and space is what everyone is always kind of looking for.”

What Penguins’ management was looking for when it signed Eller was a steady presence to man the unique role of being the third-line center behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

That station is demanding, and the likes of Jordan Staal, Brandon Sutter, Nick Bonino and (occasionally) Jeff Carter have succeeded in it.

Others such as Riley Sheahan, Derick Brassard, Nick Bjugstad and (occasionally) Carter have not.

Thus far, Eller has performed well enough to merit inclusion in the first group.

Having appeared in all 46 games this season, Eller has 15 points (nine goals, six assists). Averaging 14 minutes, 59 seconds of ice time, he sees time on the power play (55 seconds per game) and the penalty kill (2:13 per game). In the faceoff dot, he has won 53.1% of the draws he has taken and is second on the team in defensive zone starts (140).

In Saturday’s win, in addition to scoring the Penguins’ first goal, his play was so strong that he was promoted to the right wing of Malkin’s line in the third period as the Penguins mounted a comeback effort.

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“He’s just quietly done what we hoped he would do when we got him,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s a solid two-way player. We use him in a lot of defensive situations, but he’s got an offensive dimension to his game. … He’s contributing offensively. He plays on one of the (power-play units), he’s a big part of the penalty kill, we use him on (defensive) zone starts. We move him all around the lineup. He’s a real good player on both sides of the puck. That was our hope when we got him, and he’s certainly lived up to those expectations.”

That’s what gives Eller comfort as an NHLer 1,000 games into his career.

“The role we talked about when I signed with the Penguins is the role that I’m trying to fill to the best of my ability,” Eller said. “Playing in all different situations, special teams and five-on-five on that (third-line center) spot. Try to relieve Sid and (Malkin) and get some secondary scoring. That’s where I know I can be effective. And I need to keep being effective at that for us to have success.”

Note: The Penguins assigned rookie forward Valtteri Puustinen and defenseman Ryan Shea to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Additionally, rookie defenseman John Ludvig was sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning assignment.

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