McCann is eager to help and to learn
TAMPA, Fla. — When Jared McCann was in Vancouver, he acted like a sponge around Daniel and Henrik Sedin, trying to model the twins’ on- and office habits.
In Florida, McCann worked behind a couple of terrific centers in Aleksander Barkov and Upper St. Clair native Vince Trocheck.
Those above him on the Penguins depth chart in that position aren’t too shabby, either.
Which is why McCann is thrilled for the opportunity in front of him — not only to become an integral part of the team but also to lock down the third-line center job in a way that Derick Brassard could not.
“I’m just trying to make the most of it, work hard every day and show them they made the right decision in bringing me here,” McCann said. “I’m going to do whatever they say. If they continue to put me there, I’ll just continue to work at it and get better.”
There’s a few reasons why this experiment might work better than the previous one, but the biggest has to be McCann’s upbeat and tremendously likable attitude.
While Brassard worried about what he wasn’t getting or what didn’t work, McCann is thrilled to be in this position. He’s geeked to look across the locker room to see Sidney Crosby as a mentor, not someone stealing his ice time.
Learning to appreciate what you have is a lesson McCann learned early in his career.
“Coming in from junior at 19 years old, to the NHL, it was a big eye-opener for me, especially because I was one of the go-to guys in Sault Ste. Marie [in the Ontario Hockey League],” said McCann, who played 69 games with the Canucks before spending the next 143 with the Panthers. “I was always one of those guys who got the extra ice. Then I went to Vancouver, and it was a different story.
“The way you handle different situations and keep yourself prepared because you’re always going to get those chances, I feel like that’s something that I picked up.”
On the ice, McCann checks many of the necessary boxes for a Penguins third-line center. He has good vision, can skate, can facilitate to his linemates and can contribute on both special teams; he averaged 1:03 on the power play this season with the Panthers, 0:59 on the penalty kill.
Thursday night against his former team, McCann showed a little offensive punch, too. After taking off on a two-on-one break with Bryan Rust, McCann from the right circle snapped a shot past Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo.
It was the ninth goal of the season for McCann — the same number as Brassard. Suffice to say, the Penguins’ latest option at third-line center has made a positive impression on his coach Mike Sullivan.
“We think he’s capable,” Sullivan said. “He can really skate. He’s got a good, solid, two-way game. He’s sound defensively. He’s a good penalty killer, which is an indication of his defensive awareness. He’s a good faceoff guy. He’s competitive. And he can skate. He can play with pace.”
Milestone night
Finally — it happened. By playing Saturday against Tampa Bay, Sidney Crosby passed co-owner Mario Lemieux for the Penguins record in games played with No. 916.
While Crosby was cautious in talking about it before it happened, Sullivan had no problem singing Crosby’s praises Friday after practice .
“He’s obviously a gifted player,” Sullivan said. “He’s an elite player in that regard. When you combine that with his work ethic and his willingness to go the extra mile, to do certain things that most players quite honestly aren’t willing to do. I think that’s what separates Sid from others.”
Line it up
Sullivan made a few lineup tweaks with his forward lines Saturday for game against the Lightning.
Sidney Crosby was between Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust to start, while Nick Bjugstad shifted back to center on a line with Tanner Pearson and Phil Kessel.
McCann centered Dominik Simon and Patric Hornqvist. Matt Cullen was between Teddy Blueger and Garrett Wilson. No changes on defense, as the three pairings from Thursday remained: Marcus PetterssonKris Letang, Brian Dumoulin-Jack Johnson and Olli Maatta-Juuso Riikola
While many expected Matt Murray to get the start in goal, Sullivan instead went with Casey DeSmith, who has a .927 save percentage (76 of 82) over his past two starts.
Murray did serve as the backup, giving him more time to recover from the upper-body injury that kept him out Thursday.