Versatile Wilson fills many needs
Cranking out hits only part of what he can produce
OTTAWA, Ontario — Scott Wilson doesn’t just accept his role with the Penguins, or even simply embrace it.
There are times when he throws himself into it. Literally. Witness the Penguins’ 1-0 victory against Ottawa in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final, when Wilson — despite logging just 12 minutes, 15 seconds of ice time — was credited with 10 of his team’s 50 hits.
Mostly because it just seemed like the thing to do.
“[The Senators] were hitting right off the bat, too, so you want to give a little bit of a push back,” Wilson said. “I thought I’d try to use my physicality to the team’s advantage.”
It certainly didn’t hurt, as Game 2 produced the Penguins’ only victory so far in this series.
Wilson primarily has played alongside Matt Cullen and Carter Rowney on the fourth line in recent games, and enters Game 4 at 8:10 p.m. Friday at Canadian Tire Centre with one goal and one assist in 11 playoff appearances, while averaging 10:28 of ice time.
Those modest numbers aside, Wilson’s game is sufficiently well-rounded that he can be moved up and down the lineup.
That was proven again in Game 3, when the Penguins dressed 11 forwards and Wilson worked both at left wing on the fourth line and right wing on the third.
His personal stats line reflects the niche he has been filling for most of this spring, but not the potential he has to be more of a factor in the offense in the future.
Although Wilson isn’t likely to develop into a game-breaker, he has hockey sense and hand skills to develop into a reliable 15-goal man at this level.
Though not a big man (5 feet 11, 183 pounds), he isn’t shy about venturing into the high-traffic areas where so many goals are scored.
Wilson, 25, demonstrated his offensive touch with the Penguins’ American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre.
He put up 19 goals in 55 games in 2014-15, then 22 in 34 games a year later. That production helped him to secure steady work in the NHL in 2016-17, when he scored eight times in 78 games.
Goaltenders are better in the NHL, of course, and defenses are more stingy and less error-prone. Wilson, though, believes that translating goal-scoring from the AHL to this level is as much mental as anything.
“I think a lot of it [is] a mindset,” he said. “I think you have to have the right mindset. Sometimes, you’re super-negative toward yourself.”
Wilson, who is averaging nine seconds of power-play time per game in these playoffs, acknowledged that his stats with the Baby Penguins were padded — directly and otherwise — by the regular power-play time he got in Wilkes-Barre.
“It does help a little, maybe with the confidence part,” he said. “You get one on the power play, and it kind of starts rolling for you 5-on-5.”
For now, though, maximizing his offensive potential is not a priority. There is a series to be won, a championship to be chased, so the emphasis is on executing his blue-collar duties as effectively as possible.
“I’m happy where I am, in the sense that there are a lot of guys who can score goals but can’t play on the third or fourth line, on a checking line,” Wilson said. “I take pride in being able to do both.
“Hopefully, the goals will come, but I’m just trying to do whatever the team needs right now.”