Newest Penguins savor opportunity to make playoff run
Jared McCann is finding it hard to sleep at night.
Erik Gudbranson gave his mother a late-night phone call Thursday to let out a celebratory yell.
For many players on the Pittsburgh Penguins roster, clinching a playoff spot – like the team did with for the 13th straight season with a 4-1 victory over Detroit on Thursday night – is as dramatic as heading to the DMV to get their driver’s license renewed.
For some players new to the team this season, though, it’s a much bigger deal.
“I went home and kind of pinched myself a little bit,” said Gudbranson, a eighth-year pro. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in. I’ve only played two series. I was definitely really excited about it. Had a moment last night having dinner by myself at home. I was like, ‘Sweet. This is unreal. I’m really pumped about this.’”
Had Gudbranson not been dealt to the Penguins at the trade deadline, his season would be wrapping up Saturday. Vancouver is 12th in the Western Conference. Instead, he’s on a team still vying for home-ice advantage and a favorable postseason seed on the last day of the year.
He was a league-worst minus-27 in 57 games before the trade. He’s plus-7 in 18 games since.
Anyway it’s sliced, things are looking up for the 27-year-old defenseman.
“So far, I’ve been very fortunate to be part of this team,” Gudbranson said. “It’s a great opportunity for myself to learn from some of the best and obviously get into the postseason and have a run at it. I’m pretty excited.”
McCann, a fourth-year pro, will be making the first postseason appearance of his career next week.
His arrival from Florida along with Nick Bjugstad in a Feb. 1 trade helped point the Penguins’ season in a direction that enabled them to be in a position to qualify in the first place. Now, he’s enjoying the benefits.
“I’m pumped,” he said. “It’s hard to sleep at night right now, to be honest with you. This is my first time obviously playing in the playoffs in the NHL. I want to do well and help the team as much as I can.”
If McCann runs into a postseason situation that he’s not sure how to handle, he already knows exactly what he’ll do. He’ll turn a teammate for whom such pressure-packed moments are commonplace.
“Going to try to pick their brain as much as possible and see what they do differently in postseason,” McCann said.
Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.
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