With his goal late in the third period of Thursday’s season opener, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen could breathe easier.

He beat Arizona Coyotes netminder Karel Vejmelka to finish a two-on-one break for the final goal in a 6-2 victory for the Penguins.

It was the first time in his career Kapanen scored in the first game of the season.

The joy any player feels at scoring in Game 1 is obvious enough to not warrant mentioning.

But for Kapanen, a player who has struggled to live up to the goal-scoring potential that surrounded him upon being chosen by the Penguins in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft, there is added significance to his early-season score.

“It’s real encouraging,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’re thrilled for (Kapanen). He puts a lot of pressure on himself to produce for us offensively, and, when you can score in that very first game, it just takes a little bit of pressure off. Certainly, it should be a big boost of confidence for him.”

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After being drafted by the Penguins, Kapanen was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015 as a key piece of the trade that brought Phil Kessel to Pittsburgh.

Kapanen spent parts of five seasons with the Maple Leafs, with his 44-point (20 goals) 2018-19 campaign generating excitement for what his future held.

The following season, Kapanen produced 13 goals in 69 games and was traded back to the Penguins in August 2020.

This season is Kapanen’s third in Pittsburgh, and he hasn’t approached the vicinity of a 20-goal season akin to his career year in Toronto.

Last season, when he scored 11 goals in 79 games, was particularly disappointing for Kapanen.

That matched his goal total from the covid-condensed 2019-20 campaign, in which he played nearly half as many (40) games.

Thus, burying a wrister top shelf Thursday off a feed from linemate Danton Heinen, who snuck a pass through retreating Coyotes defender Shayne Gostisbehere, was a welcome start to a new season for the 26-year-old.

“It’s always nice to get them early, and obviously, last year, struggling with goal-scoring a little bit, it always feels good to get one,” he said. “It was a great pass from (Heinen).”

While Kapanen aims to be more of a consistent offensive threat this season, the Penguins also have tweaked his overall list of responsibilities in tapping him as a penalty killer, something he had not done during his first two seasons in Pittsburgh.

The role is not unfamiliar for Kapanen, however, as he was a regular on the Maple Leafs’ PK unit.

Conversations between Kapanen and the Penguins’ coaches took place this preseason on how to maximize his time on the ice.

On Thursday, Kapanen logged 14 minutes, 4 seconds of ice time, recording three shots on goal and two hits.

“I think (the penalty-kill) is a great opportunity for that,” Kapanen said. “I did it in Toronto for four years, five years, and I really like it. After last night, I felt some confidence with that. It’s not easy jumping in after two years without doing it, but it felt good out there.”

Kapanen has not been alone in that regard, with defenseman Marcus Pettersson also seeing action on the penalty kill after not doing so in years past.

“We’re trying to just utilize the bench and deploy these guys in certain ways that we can balance the minutes and we can cast them in certain roles that they can excel at,” Sullivan said.

“We’re trying to set (Kapanen) up for success, but we’ve also lost some guys and we’re looking to replace guys. We’re hopeful that we can utilize (Kapanen’s) speed and his talent level to help us become the penalty kill that we want to become, that being one of pressure. (Kapanen) could potentially thrive in that circumstance.”

Both of Arizona’s goals Thursday came on the power play, with Coyotes forward Nick Ritchie accounting for all the damage.

Each score featured Ritchie being fed the puck in the low slot with a concerning lack of Penguins sticks and bodies near enough to contest his shots in a meaningful manner.

Needless to say, after one game played, shoring up the penalty kill is a to-do item of high priority for Sullivan and the Penguins.

“There are areas where we know we can get better, the penalty kill being one,” Sullivan said. “We’ve got a lot of new people there.”

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