BUFFALO, N.Y. — One quick sequence Sunday summed up how things have been going for Jason Zucker since the winger returned to the lineup March 29.
In the second period, the Penguins forced a turnover in the neutral zone at KeyBank Center and went the other way in a hurry. Zucker, a guy with five 20-goal seasons on his resume, sped down the right wing with the puck on his stick.
The lone Buffalo Sabres defender back shaded toward Jeff Carter, conceding the shot to Zucker. Zucker tried to pass it to Carter anyway. The defender poked the puck away and a chance to get back into the game was squandered.
“Yeah, it was a terrible play,” Zucker said after Sunday’s frustrating 4-2 loss.
Penguins forward Sidney Crosby (#87) passes the puck during the second period of an NHL game against the Sabres on Sunday, April 18, 2021, in Buffalo, N.Y.
There is no doubt Zucker is putting himself into position to produce. How many times have you grumbled recently about the puck spinning off of his blade or Zucker not being able to finish a play? But at least he is creating opportunities.
Zucker had a team-high four shots Sunday. That included a first-period play when he was alone with Dustin Tokarski but couldn’t beat him on the backhand.
He finally got on the board midway through the third period, when the game was all but out of reach. It was just his 11th point in the 27 games he’s played.
“I’ve had a few discussions with him recently, just about simplifying his game and going hard to the net and being hard on pucks and things of that sort,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think his game has been a little up and down most recently but the last few games, playing with Jeff [Carter], I think he’s played well.”
He added that the team is “hoping it’s trending the right way” for Zucker. Even with his hiccups, Zucker hasn’t slowed that line down. Zucker, Carter and Jared McCann had another strong showing Sunday, making it three games in a row.
But it is obviously that both Zucker and the Penguins are expecting more.
“We’re hopeful that Zuck can have more of an impact on the game,” Sullivan said. “I’m hopeful that the goal he got [Sunday] will give him a boost of confidence. He’s an important player for us. He’s such a hard player to play against.”
Mission accomplished
Entering the season, one of the primary objectives for the Penguins was to get their defensemen more involved in the attack. It’s something that Sullivan and assistant Todd Reirden began to drill into them during their brief training camp.
The blue-liners may not often be the ones lighting the lamp, but there is no doubt that things have panned out as Sullivan and Reirden had initially hoped.
Kris Letang as of Saturday was fifth among NHL defensemen with 35 points in 43 games. Newcomers Mike Matheson and Cody Ceci have double-digit totals. Ditto for Brian Dumoulin, whose six-game point streak was snapped Saturday.
At a macro level, the Penguins entering Sunday’s game were averaging 3.34 goals per game. The second-highest scoring rate of the six-year Sullivan era.
“They’re defending when we need them to. They’re joining the rush. They’re helping us generate offense, whether it be off the rush or jumping off the offensive blue line and providing the support the forwards need,” Sullivan said. “It’s hard to generate offense … without the participation of all the guys on the ice.”
Friedman activated
The Penguins activated defenseman Mark Friedman from injured reserve.
The defenseman had been sidelined with an upper-body injury since a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on March 4. In that game, against his former team, he scored his first NHL goal and twice went to the locker room following high hits.
For nearly six weeks, Friedman, a right-shot defenseman who can play either side, had skated with the team or the taxi squad without receiving clearance to return. He was finally activated Sunday but did not suit up against the Sabres.
The Penguins picked up Friedman off waivers in late February. General manager Ron Hextall was running the Flyers when they drafted Friedman in 2014.
The Penguins also activated Anthony Angello from the taxi squad Sunday.
Blueger feels better
Sunday was Teddy Blueger’s fourth game back in the lineup after missing four weeks with an upper-body injury. The center scored in the final minute. That gave him three points and a plus-2 rating since returning on April 18.
“I think it [has gone] pretty good,” Blueger said. “Probably the first three up until [Sunday] were kind of a solid progression. The first game was a little bit weird after missing so much time, especially the first half of that. … Now I feel like I’m kind of back in a normal rhythm where we’re playing basically every other day.”
