Mark Madden: Drew O'Connor, Alex Nylander deserve to stay in lineup and other noteworthy Penguins items

An unimpressive 7-1-1 run is better than sparkling despite a loss. Enjoy this decidedly impressive run of refreshing Penguins notes. Go ahead, bite the Big Apple.

• Wingers Drew O’Connor and Alex Nylander have been solid, should stay in the lineup and should have been in the lineup all season. O’Connor was shuttling between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, while Nylander was buried with the Baby Penguins till his recent call-up. They provide youth, energy and desire. If cap space is a problem when everybody’s healthy, waive a veteran like Chad Ruhwedel or finagle somebody onto long-term injured reserve.

• Coach Mike Sullivan is trying to balance his forward units, with Mikael Granlund centering O’Connor and Rickard Rakell on the third line. It’s not HBK, but it’s worth a shot. Nylander had 25 goals and 25 assists in 54 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He’s a top six-type and looks OK skating on Evgeni Malkin’s wing.

• Goaltender Tristan Jarry’s shaky posture and mostly poor performance fuels speculation that he’s playing hurt. Perhaps it’s that chronic hip problem that’s been reported. To his credit, Jarry battled hard to get the 3-2 overtime victory Sunday against the New York Rangers. Casey DeSmith likewise shrugged off a terrible goal to beat Philadelphia, 5-1, on Saturday. Who’s the better goalie right now? Not sure. That’s not a good question to have to ask. But play Jarry.

• It’s cliched and tiresome to pump Sidney Crosby’s tires even more. But his stunning quality and tireless work ethic at 35 is simply incredible. He doesn’t like the description, but Crosby is now even more pointedly the best grinder ever. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid is the NHL’s top player. Crosby might still be second.

• Or maybe, right now, Jason Zucker is ahead of everybody. The nonstop winger has nine goals in his last eight games. That’s the most in the NHL since Feb. 26. Zucker isn’t the new McJesus, but he has been a consistent difference-maker.

• Crosby has scored against Philadelphia in four consecutive games and now has 122 points in 82 career games against the Flyers. He’s done even more damage to the Flyers than their GM typically does.

• Kris Letang’s overtime winner Sunday gives him three of those this season, tying him for the NHL lead. Letang is clutch. Always has been.

• Given the slow, strangled, strategized mess that three-on-three overtime is, Sullivan isn’t overcoaching when he deploys faceoff specialist Jeff Carter to take the draw that starts OT. Possession trumps all. But it would be nice if Carter won that draw more often.

• Pittsburgh product Vince Trocheck caused quite a stir when he hit Malkin late and from behind, leading to Trocheck’s Rangers scoring the tying goal Sunday. It should have been a penalty, but Trocheck’s truculence on the day creates wonder about how the Penguins would be different if they let Malkin go and instead signed Trocheck out of free agency. (That could easily have happened this past offseason.) Malkin has 20 more points, but Trocheck is much more difficult to play against. It’s not all about stats.

• The Penguins responded properly after Jacob Trouba’s high hit on Nylander. (Same old Trouba.) But it was Malkin who led the charge. It’s too often one of the stars. When will a lesser light be less pusillanimous? (To be fair, Josh Archibald did grab a headlock on Mika Zibanejad at one point.)

• At six points back and with 16 games left, the Penguins are unlikely to catch the Rangers for third place in the Metropolitan Division. But doing that gets a first-round matchup with New Jersey, not Carolina or Boston, so the Penguins need to make the most of their games at Madison Square Garden on Thursday and Saturday. The Devils have a young team that hasn’t made the playoffs in four years. They would be no soft touch, but their experience could perhaps be exploited. Or maybe that’s reaching.

• Or maybe the Devils leapfrog Carolina and finish atop the Metro. The teams are currently tied for first after the Devils beat the Hurricanes, 3-0, on Sunday. I did not see that gap closing. At any rate, the Devils would be the Penguins’ preferred first-round foe no matter how it happens.

• The Rangers added star wingers Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko via trade and look very good on paper. But on the ice, the fit looks awkward. It’s reminiscent of the Penguins in 2013 when they added Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow, Douglas Murray and Jussi Jokinen. They never quite jelled like they needed to.

• It’s hard to believe the Penguins are 7-1-1 in their last nine games. They haven’t played to the level of that record. But the record is all that matters.

• Two of GM Ron Hextall’s three trade-deadline acquisitions are hurt: center Nick Bonino and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. Underwhelming rarely gets an exclamation point.