WASHINGTON — When Tom Kuhnhackl couldn’t serve his delay of game penalty late in the third period of the Penguins’ 6-2 Game 2 win against Washington due to injury, Mike Sullivan sent Phil Kessel to go sit in the box in Kuhnhackl’s stead.
It was fitting, really. It was about the only role Kessel hadn’t already filled Saturday night.
Kessel scored two goals and added one assist, playing up and down the Penguins lineup and performing in just about every situation he was put in.
“We can use him on any number of lines, or any number of situations,” Sullivan said. “We try to put him in situations where he can play to his strengths, and Phil is a difference-maker with his offensive instincts and his ability to make plays and shoot the puck. I think it was evident with his game tonight.”
The first role Kessel played was a familiar one, starting alongside Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin in a surprise reunion of the HBK line, which was so lethal during the Penguins’ run through last year’s playoffs.
The Penguins struggled mightily through the first 20 minutes, but Hagelin — playing his first game since March 10 — said being put in a familiar situation helped ease him back into game action.
While doing that, Kessel also took shifts on his regular line, with Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust. He played 5:20 in the first period, fourth among Penguins’ forwards.
“I think Phil showed a lot of character tonight,” Hagelin said. “Playing a lot of minutes and being a leader on our team. He was fun to watch out there.”
Kessel was, unsurprisingly, a bit more understated in his reaction.
“We just kind of started off with a little different lines and adjusted from there,” he said.
When the Penguins lost Patric Hornqvist to injury in the first period, they had to scramble lines a little bit to help find a right-winger for Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel’s top line. For at least a brief stint, Kessel filled that role, too.
He finished off a remarkable assist from Crosby to put the Penguins up 2-1 midway through the third period. Kessel and Crosby haven’t played together much 5-on-5 this season, but it was hard to tell as Kessel cooly collected Crosby’s cross-ice feed and beat Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby.
“You watch it all year, he does it all the time,” Kessel said. “You see him out there. I think he’s the strongest guy in the league on his skates. He muscles guys off, and you’ve always got to be ready.”
And, of course, Kessel assumed his typically dangerous spot at the left circle on the Penguins’ power play, scoring early in the third to put his team up 4-1.
Through seven playoff games, Kessel’s four goals and seven assists are tied for second in the NHL. Wherever he plays this postseason, he’s producing.
“We can’t say enough for Phil’s willingness to embrace any way we choose to use him,” Sullivan said. “I had lots of conversations with him over the course of the season on what the coaching staff is thinking and how we’d like to use him. He just embraces the challenge, and he did it again tonight.”
Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SWernerPG
First Published: April 30, 2017, 4:22 a.m.
