Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic finds the right temperature

On Wednesday at the Pittsburgh Penguins’ facility, the mood was serious.

After all, the team had just returned from the American Southwest with nothing but a pair of unappetizing road losses to the Vegas Golden Knights and Arizona Coyotes.

When a reporter asked several of the team’s prominent players about what the “temperature” of the room was after such a skid, the responses were typical cliches about resolve, working hard and confidence.

Alex Nedeljkovic, the team’s backup goaltender, when queried about the temperature in the Penguins’ nest, went a different route.

“It was pretty warm out there today,” Nedeljkovic said with perfect deadpan. “I thought the ice was pretty soft. I had to take my neck guard off, it was so hot out there.”

(As it was, it was a fairly mild and rainy day for late January with temperatures hovering around 50 degrees.)

Such is the mirthful nature of Nedeljkovic.

A native of Parma, Ohio, he gleefully wore a Cleveland Browns Myles Garrett jersey while speaking with reporters after making 38 saves in a 3-0 shutout of the Golden Knights at PPG Paints Arena on Nov. 19, the same day his favorite NFL team claimed a 13-10 home win against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the afternoon.

“Didn’t nap much today,” Nedeljkovic quipped that night.

Given the binary nature of goaltending, many who inhabit the position are rigid, tense and just outright unpleasant.

Nedeljkovic is not like that at all.

“Very upbeat,” defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. “Very positive. He always brings the same mindset to the rink, trying to get better every day. … He’s grown close to a lot of players here.”

Of course, it’s easy to be popular when you’ve been as successful as Nedeljkovic has been in his first season with the Penguins. Appearing in 16 games, he has posted an 8-3-3 record, a 2.60 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage and regularly challenges starter Tristan Jarry for playing time.

Given that the season just crossed the midway point, Nedeljkovic is hesitant to say if he’s met expectations for himself since joining the Penguins. But he is certainly pleased with the results to this point.

“The expectations, they’re always high for myself,” Nedeljkovic said. “I want to be the best. I want to do the best that I can. I want to do that every day. Obviously, it’s not going to go that way. The days where you’re not at your best, you’ve got to have your B game, you can’t have your C game. You can’t dip so far away from your top level. You have to stay as consistent as possible.”

Nedeljkovic, signed to a one-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1.5 million, joined the Penguins this past offseason looking to get his career back on track after two disappointing seasons with the Detroit Red Wings organization. Should he keep tracking the way he has this season, he could be in line for a lucrative multi-year contract.

He understands there is a business component to this. But he is not looking that far down the road. His focus is immediate.

“I am not thinking about that at all,” Nedeljkovic said. “We’re trying to make a playoff push here and try to fix some things that are going on right now with us and trying to be consistent every day. The offseason is not anywhere on my radar at all. When I start thinking about that stuff, that’s when things start going south for me. I’m looking too far ahead. I’m focused on today. Tomorrow, I’ll be focused on tomorrow’s practice. If I get a game … I’ll be worried about that game.

“When anybody starts to worry about the next year, a week from now, a day from now, your focus isn’t on today. That’s where it needs to be: what’s going on right now.”

At the moment, Nedeljkovic and his teammates are enjoying a bye week in the NHL’s schedule. When they return to team activities (practice Sunday in Cranberry), Nedeljkovic will be there doing what he can to improve his game.

And adding a jovial approach.

“Your first question was ‘What’s the temperature like in the room?’ ” Nedeljkovic said. “It could have easily been pretty bad and pretty sour and a ‘nobody wants to be here’ feeling. But every day is a new day. … You’ve got to find a way to get back up and go out there and work hard. “

“It’s just part of growing up trying to find ways to get better every day and moving on. That’s life.”