Kuhnhackl takes on more offensive role

Tom Kuhnhackl would be the first person to admit he is not the most offensively inclined player in the Penguins locker room.

But in the Penguins road game Saturday against the New Jersy Devils, he was cast in an undeniably offensive role, replacing Patric Hornqvist on Evgeni Malkin’s right wing. It was the fourth time this season Kuhnhackl, usually a mainstay on the fourth line, had been bumped up to the top six.

He was in that spot again Tuesday night when the Penguins took on Vegas at PPG Painst Arena.

“It’s for sure special, playing with a player like [Malkin], as hot as he’s been of late,” Kuhnhackl said. “I’ve just got to make sure I try to give him the puck and try to create some space for him.”

Mike Sullivan said there was a reason they thought Kuhnhackl could fit in that slightly more offensive role.

“He’s a guy who has similar attributes to Horny in the sense that he plays in the battle areas, he goes to the net, he can help retrieve pucks,” Sullivan said. “So, from that standpoint, he brings all of those things to a line if we choose to use him with Geno’s line.”

Kuhnhackl agreed that there are some similarities between his game and Hornqvist’s, joking that it must be a European thing.

“I know a couple of [Swedish] words, but I can’t say them,” he said. “I’ve got to work on that.

“For sure, I can match the physicality and stuff, but his net-front presence, his leadership on and off the ice, on the bench. Just his energy, that’s hard to match. He’s for sure going to be missed.”

Kuhnhackl isn’t going to completely replace Hornqvist’s offensive contributions, either, but he has flashed a little bit more potential on that end of the ice in recent games. Kuhnhackl has two assists in his past five games and has done a good job putting himself and his teammates in goal-scoring situations.

“I think there’s more offense to his game than the numbers indicate,” Sullivan said. “His play as of late has been an indication of that. We’re trying to get that out of him because we believe there’s another level to his game.”

A weird debut

Zach Aston-Reese would’ve remembered his NHL home debut anyway, but now, with the hubbub sure to occur over Marc-Andre Fleury … yeah, the 23year-old winger, called up Saturday, won’t forget this anytime soon.

“I’m excited,” AstonReese said Tuesday after the morning skate. “I’m trying not to think too much about it. More just worry about getting the win tonight, doing all the little things. It’s going to be exciting, though, for sure; can’t deny that.”

After his promotion Saturday, Aston-Reese practiced Monday and took the morning skate Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena, helping him feel a little more comfortable with the NHL club.

Aston-Reese said he never met Fleury, but he has heard nothing but good things.

“I’m sure it’s going to be loud probably give him a nice tribute video,” AstonReese said. “It’s going to be high emotion right from the drop of the puck.”

Lessons from Jersey

For a team playing as well as the Penguins have of late, their 3-1 loss Saturday to the Devils — in which they were utterly and thoroughly outplayed, especially early — was about as surprising a result as they come.

“If you look back at the last game, we clearly weren’t ready to play for the first 40 minutes,” Kuhnhackl said.

The Penguins knew that lesson would be a big one coming into a game Tuesday night against the Golden Knights, another upstart team surprisingly challenging for a playoff spot.

“They’re quick on pucks, they put a lot of pressure on you, just like Jersey did,” defenseman Jamie Oleksiak said.

Cheers for Fleury?

Kuhnhackl nearly spit out his water when presented with a possible, though admittedly unlikely, scenario for Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena. He scores a goal on Marc-Andre Fleury, and the Pittsburgh crowd, loyal to its old goalie, unleashes a stream ofboos on him.

“I guess there is a chance, right?” Kuhnhackl said. “He’s been here for a long time. He’s obviously a face of Pittsburgh.”

A more likely scenario would be that Kuhnhackl, or any Penguins player, really, comes in on a breakaway, Fleury makes one of his trademark acrobatic saves, and the crowd cheers.

“If that happens, I’m going to laugh,” Kuhnhackl said. “I’d go up and give him a tap on the pads.”