Zucker learns the Penguins are all about winning
So how do you like the trade now? I know one thing: Jason Zucker and the Penguins love it. Zucker’s smile after the first of his two goals Friday night in a 1:42 span in a 4-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens gave it away. So did the joy on the bench among his coaches and teammates.
“I was excited,” Zucker said. “But, to me, it’s just about the win. That was great. To get that winning feeling back, it was great to do it with these guys. It was a fun night.”
“We’re excited about having him,” Mike Sullivan said of Zucker. “We think he’s only going to get better. The familiarity is going to help him.”
Let’s put Zucker’s night in perspective: It took him until the second period of his second game with the Penguins to get his first and second goals. It took Alex Galchenyuk — the NHL player the Penguins sent to Minnesota Monday night to get Zucker — until his 15th game to get his first goal this season and the 19th game to get his second. Galchenyuk, by the way, went scoreless in his first two games with the Wild this week with one shot on net.
Zucker had criticized his performance in his Penguins debut Tuesday night in a 2-1 overtime loss to Tampa Bay despite getting a team-best five shots on net. “I don’t think I played very well tonight. I thought my hands were terrible. I mishandled pretty much every puck I touched.”
There were no such problems Friday night.
“I thought his speed was more noticeable tonight,” Sullivan said. “You can see how good he is on the transition when the puck changes from defense to offense, his ability to create separation and jump into windows of opportunity. We have some guys who can get him the puck. You can see his ability to finish.”
Zucker was so involved against the Canadiens that he easily could have had a hat trick. Early in the second period, he busted in alone down left wing but couldn’t get a shot on net on goaltender Carey Price. In the first minute of the third period, he couldn’t handle a hard pass from Sidney Crosby when he was looking at an open net.
But Zucker didn’t miss on two glorious chances. The first came at 18:00 of the second period when Crosby skated down left wing and waited and waited and waited before setting up Zucker for an open net with a wonderful pass for a 2-0 lead. The second came with 17.1 seconds left in the period when Marcus Petterson set up Zucker with a centering pass for an easy chip-in goal and a 3-1 lead. The Canadiens had pulled within, 2-1, on a Tomas Tatar goal just :36 earlier.
Zucker called Crosby’s pass “incredible” and “awesome,” adding, “Sid, obviously, makes great plays every time he’s on the ice. I’m just glad I touched that one. The one in the third I think I missed by about four feet.”
Zucker called the pass from Pettersson “unbelievable.” Sullivan also liked it and the subsequent Zucker goal and especially liked the response so quickly after Tatar’s goal. “Those type of moments go a long way to controlling momentum. That particular goal, I think, was a real important one for us.”
This night was what Jim Rutherford hoped for when he traded not just Galchenyuk to the Wild for Zucker, but also top defensive prospect Calen Addison and a No. 1 draft pick. It was the night Zucker also was anticipating. That his wife, Carly, and their young kids were in from Minnesota and at PPG Paints Arena made it that much more special.
Zucker said his first practice with the Penguins Thursday was huge.
“I’m trying to learn the system a little more, trying to learn these guys and how they play hockey. It’ll be a learning curve still, but I’m excited for that game tonight.”
Just as he did Tuesday night, Zucker raved about being with the Penguins. He made it past the first round of the playoffs just once in the first eight years of his career, all with Minnesota. You get the idea he loves the possibilities here.
“It’s a winning culture,” Zucker said. “I felt that the day I got here. I felt that the very first game. It was a different feeling in here in a very great way. I’m just excited to be a part of it and hope I can help these guys win some games down the stretch.”
Zucker already has started.