Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson's offense continues to evolve
The Pittsburgh Penguins brought in Jason Zucker via trade last week to complement Sidney Crosby’s playmaking abilities.
And sure enough, Crosby and his new winger combined, in some fashion, on three goals in the first three games they played together.
He is the latest in a long line of candidates to be that proverbial “winger for Sid.”
Oddly enough, Zucker also, in a way, has been a “winger for Marcus.”
Defenseman Marcus Pettersson has become a somewhat unlikely benefactor of Zucker’s presence as he has recorded assists on two of the goals Zucker and Crosby have been involved in.
And these aren’t just ho-hum secondary assists. In each instance, Pettersson has recorded the primary assist in fairly impressive fashion.
First, during a 4-1 defeat of the Montreal Canadiens on Friday at PPG Paints Arena, Pettersson set up Zucker for the Penguins’ third goal. After Crosby fed a pass from the right point to Pettersson above the left circle, Pettersson used his 6-foot-3 frame to reach around a poke check by Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry and slid a pass to the front of the crease. Zucker fought through a check by Canadiens defenseman Brett Kulak and chopped the puck over the glove hand of goaltender Carey Price.
“I saw (Zucker) driving the net, so I kind of knew he was going to that spot,” Pettersson said. “Once I got it from Sid, who made a great pass, I had (Petry) right on me right away. I didn’t have a chance to look up, but I knew (Zucker) was going there. So I just kind of tried to put it in a spot for him to create something. Obviously, he did. It was a great play by him fighting through his check.”
Pettersson had arguably a more impressive play Sunday during a 5-1 home win against the Detroit Red Wings.
After a steal by Penguins forward Dominik Simon, Zucker fed a cross-ice pass from above the left circle to the high slot for Crosby. Looping through the right circle to the right point, Crosby sauced a pass to Pettersson at the left point. As Red Wings forward Robby Fabbri was late to react, Pettersson took advantage of a wide seam and fed the puck back to Crosby, now above the right circle. From there, Crosby cranked a one-timer off the crossbar and into the cage.
“You don’t want to make crossing passes every day,” Pettersson said. “But he (drew Fabbri) out, so that made the gap for passing pretty big. That’s when I do those plays, when I make up my mind right away, do it right off of instinct. Because if I think of another play, I’m not going to be able to do it.”
The ease with which Pettersson made those plays illustrates a growing offensive component to his steady game. A year ago, Pettersson, who joined the Penguins via trade in December 2018, might not have been involved in those types of sequences.
“Maybe not,” Pettersson said.
His teammates suggest he always has had an underlying offensive acumen. It simply has been amplified by a greater level of comfort and confidence after nearly 15 months with the team.
“He’s always kind of shown that right from the start of getting here, joining the rush and making plays,” Crosby said. “Joining the rush is part of it but also getting out of your end and that sort of thing, that goes a long way. He’s always done that since he’s gotten here, but I’m sure you get more and more confidence the more you play and the opportunities you get. That kind of comes with it.”
Said forward Patric Hornqvist, a fellow Swede and one of Pettersson’s closest friends: “Obviously, when you get some confidence, you seem to find those spaces a little bit more often. That’s exactly what happened here the last few games. He got some confidence, and he jumped up in the play, made something happen from it.”
And, to reverse a hockey idiom, offense can lead to defense.
“Those situations, if you’re up in the play and joining the rush, it gives you a better chance to defend later,” Pettersson said. “As a defenseman, if you don’t take those quick, hard strides and get up, your gap is terrible going the other way. I feel like every time I can make a pass and try to have a few hard strides and assess the situation at the red line or the offensive blue line, even if we lose the puck, I still have a good gap going back. So it feeds off each other a little bit.”
No one will confuse Pettersson with Kris Letang. Prior to Tuesday, Pettersson had appeared in 57 games and scored 17 points (one goal, 16 assists). He had 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) in the same amount of games he played for the Penguins last season.
But his ability to create offense, as displayed Friday and Sunday, has burgeoned and is a big reason management signed him to a five-year contract extension last month.
“He’s getting more confident with his play with the puck,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think you see it in plays like (Zucker’s goal) where his patience, his vision … that’s what we think he’s capable of. He’s not just an off-the-glass-and-out guy. He sees the ice well. He has good instincts. He has decent puck skills. We feel like he’s only going to get better in that aspect of his game. It’s an important aspect because it helps us play the type of game we’re trying to play.
‘With experience, it’s going to only help him make better decisions. He’s going to know when he needs to make a simple play and just move the puck. And then he’s going to know when he has a little bit of time and space and he can hang onto a puck and try to make a play. Experience helps those types of situations. With the more experience he gets, he’s only going to improve.”
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.
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