The Penguins are happy to have 'maniac' Brandon Tanev back
Jason Zucker is a family man.
He knows better than to speak any foul language in a public forum.
So when the Penguins forward was asked to offer a transcription of what teammate Brandon Tanev bellowed at a member of the Boston Bruins at the end of the second period during Thursday’s 4-1 road win at TD Garden, he politely declined.
“Obviously, I’m not going to repeat what was said,” Zucker said after the game in a virtual news conference. “We’ll keep this PG-13.”
For anyone capable of reading lips, Tanev was captured on camera howling a string of vulgarities — just one certain vulgarity repeatedly, to be certain — at an offending party wearing a jersey with a spoked “B” on the crest.
Zucker was immediately adjacent to Tanev and appeared to be amused by the exchange. At least that’s what his grin would suggest.
“He’s a maniac out there in so many good ways,” Zucker said. “He brings a lot of energy to our team. He’s a fighter in every sense of the word. Good having that speed and that energy.”
The Penguins had been missing that speed and energy during their preceding six games as Tanev was sidelined with an undisclosed malady.
Aside from one contest he missed because of illness during the 2019-20 season, this was the first time Tanev had been sidelined for any substantial period of time since he joined the Penguins as an unrestricted free agent during the 2019 offseason.
“When you don’t have him, you realize how important he is to our group,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s a tough kid. For a guy that plays the game the way he does, he’s a durable player. He plays night in and night out, and he never takes a night off. He plays the game hard. He brings a physical presence to our team game. He plays the game with so much energy, I think his energy is contagious for the rest of our group. We’re, obviously, really excited to have him back in our lineup.”
During Thursday’s victory, Tanev helped create the opening goal by linemate Zach Aston-Reese by simply rushing up the right wing and feeding a backhanded pass to the left of the Bruins’ crease for Aston-Reese to convert into a goal.
Beyond that tangible offensive contribution, Tanev routinely hounded the Bruins’ defensemen retrieving pucks in their own zone and, in particular, appeared to draw the ire of Charlie McAvoy, Boston’s top blueliner.
“It’s huge,” Aston-Reese said. “(Tanev) brings that energy. He’s called ‘Turbo’ for a reason. He’s just so fast, and his speed creates a lot of openings. He’s able to be a good F1 (lead forechecker) on the forecheck and leave the puck for the F2 (supporting forechecker) to come in and pick up. It’s a small detail but leads to a lot of offense.”
In 31 games this season, Tanev has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists). But his biggest contributions go beyond those that can be tabulated.
“He’s the same with us that he is on the ice,” defenseman Kris Letang said. “He’s fiery. He’s an intense guy. Lots of energy. But he’s a great teammates. Cares about all the guys in the room. Wants to make sure everybody has a good time. He keeps our dressing room tight but loose at the same time.”
“He brings a lot to our team,” Sullivan said. “He really helps to establish the identity that we’re trying to build here.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.