Chris Kunitz back in town with Blackhawks, part of an elite group of survivors

Chris Kunitz’s trip into Pittsburgh wasn’t just another road game with the Chicago Blackhawks, his fifth team in 15 NHL seasons. It wasn’t even special because it was the 990th of his career.

This one was different because he is back with the Penguins, at least as an opponent, where he earned three of his four Stanley Cup rings. During Sunday’s game, the Penguins celebrated the 10th anniversary of the team that won the 2009 Stanley Cup.

At age 39, Kunitz is one of seven prominent players on that Penguins team still in the league. It’s an elite group that includes Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang and Marc Andre-Fleury (Vegas), Brooks Orpik (Washington) and Jordan Staal (Carolina).

“It makes me feel old,” Letang said. “It’s crazy that 10 years have passed.”

Added Kunitz: “It seems like it’s flown by. It was nice to see some of the guys and catch up, sit down and visit with and see where everybody is at in life. There wasn’t any TVs or phones out. We all just enjoyed each other’s company. You never get a team together at the same time (for a reunion). Life takes over.”

In February of that season, the Penguins were in danger of missing the playoffs when then-general manager Ray Shero traded offensive defenseman Ryan Whitney to the Anaheim Ducks for Kunitz and 20-year-old prospect Eric Tangradi.

The team suddenly started winning, with Kunitz teaming with Crosby and scoring almost a point per game (seven goals, 11 assists in the last 20 regular-season games). In the playoffs, he scored only one goal but assisted on 13 others in 24 games.

“Bill (Guerin) said it (Saturday) night,” Kunitz said. “That was one of the teams that laid the foundation for how well the Penguins organization has been run and the way they address every single season and expect to win the Stanley Cup.”

Kunitz said the Penguins are the team he will identify with most when he looks back on his career.

“You spent the most time there, for sure. Winning helps,” he said. “You spend 8 ½ years here. All your kids were born here. You made a lot of great friends outside of hockey.”

He said there is no secret to why he is still playing while so many of his teammates have retired.

“It’s just the enjoyment of playing. Having the chance to win every single year makes you a little bit younger,” he said. “Having the success and the playoff run makes you drive and want to be better. When you’ve been doing it for a few years, it makes it that much easier to come to the rink every day and enjoy what you’re doing.”

Kunitz found a fountain of youth in the second period of Sunday’s game, beating his backchecker up the ice and firing a shot past the glove of goalie Casey DeSmith. It was his first goal in 24 games with the Blackhawks.

“He’s been around four Cups,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “Even for us to have that guy who’s been through a lot and won a lot in the past, it’s never a bad thing.”

Kunitz said the game has changed over the past three years.

“The youth, the skill,” he said. “It changes the way the game’s played at a different pace. You have to think the game a little different than maybe you did 10-15 years ago, but I think that happens with every generation that passes.”

Painful goal for Cullen

Penguins winger Zach Aston-Reese joked with linemate Matt Cullen that he might end up with a cauliflower ear after a puck caromed off Cullen’s ear and into the net Friday night against the Winnipeg Jets.

Aston-Reese said the puck actually caught the fleshy part of Cullen’s ear, not the helmet.

“He kept rubbing it, and then we got back to the bench and I said, ‘Is your ear all right?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I thought it was bleeding.’

“He said it stung a little bit.”

Aston-Reese said he was a bit more fortunate when he scored a goal off a body part.

“I had a head-butt goal,” he said of the first goal of his sophomore year at Northeastern. “We played at UMass-Lowell. It was power play, and there was a scrum in front (of the net) and I got pushed in and it went right off the top of the helmet and went in. Those ones feel good when you get a bounce like that.”

Sullivan remembers

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, who was an assistant in Tampa 10 years ago, remembers watching the Stanley Cup Final and coaching against the Penguins.

“I had so much respect for how good they were,” he said. “We all know how hard it is to win, regardless of how good your team is. That team should be proud of what they accomplished and the sacrifices they made to win that championship.”

Ruhwedel recalled

The Penguins recalled defenseman Chad Ruhwedel from a five-game conditioning stint with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.

It was a successful stay for Ruhwedel, who had one goal, four assists and a plus-8 rating.

Having slipped to eighth on the depth chart, Ruhwedel hasn’t played in an NHL game since Nov. 19. The conditioning assignment was meant to combat that inactivity.

DeSmith’s turn

Sullivan, who said he wants to keep Casey DeSmith involved even through Matt Murray’s hot streak, used DeSmith in goal Sunday night.

DeSmith has a 2.4 goals-against average in 25 games. He is 9-3-1 in his past three starts, including a 3-2 victory at the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 31.

Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.