When the Penguins announced their scratches Sunday before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, Jared McCann was among them. He did little during pregame warmups and only took one line rush, gliding around with the fourth line.
But about 15 minutes later, when the Penguins marched down the tunnel at PPG Paints Arena, the ailing forward was surprisingly among them. At the last minute, it was decided he was toughing it out and would even be in the starting lineup.
It didn’t make much of a difference in a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders.
McCann, a bright spot after tallying 11 goals and 17 points in 32 regular-season games after being acquired in a Feb. 1 trade, looked tentative at times and did not show up the score sheet. He got one good look on Islanders goalie Robin Lehner, firing a wrist shot from the right dot that glanced off Lehner’s glove then landed on the top of his net.
Despite the pregame intrigue Sunday, McCann returning was the expected outcome after he declared following Saturday’s practice, “I’m feeling a lot better and ready to go.”
He has been dealing with an upper-body injury since Wednesday, when Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck cross-checked him in the back during the Game 1 loss on Long Island. McCann, not identifying the play, said, “I kinda took an awkward hit.”
McCann practiced Thursday and participated in Friday’s pregame warmup. Then he was surprisingly scratched from the lineup for Game 2, another Penguins loss. He explained Saturday that he didn’t feel right as the game neared, so he was held out.
McCann was back on the ice Saturday in Cranberry, seemingly practicing without any contact restrictions. Afterward, he said he hoped to return to the team.
“It was frustrating. I wanted to be out there and help my team [in Game 2],” McCann said. “Not to be able to do that really [stunk]."
With McCann back, Teddy Blueger was scratched. Zach Aston-Reese, who would have played on the second line, was bumped back down to the fourth line. McCann skated next to Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel.
The top line to open Sunday’s game featured Dominik Simon at right wing.
Olli Maatta was a healthy scratch with Jack Johnson remaining in the lineup.
Power outage
A couple of hours after the loss, the power briefly cut out at PPG Paints Arena. It was symbolic considering the Penguins power play short-circuited again Sunday.
They went 0 for 3 in Game 3, including a pair of failed opportunities in the second period when they trailed, 2-1. They only put four shots on goal on those three power plays.
The Penguins are now 1 for 8 in the series, the lone goal coming in Game 1. The Islanders have done a good job keeping the puck on the perimeter and not allowing the Penguins to complete passes through their penalty-kill formations.
“We’ve got to execute better and you’ve got to give them credit. They’re defending us well,” coach Mike Sullivan said.
Hit ’em up
Was this a bloodbath, or are hit stats completely useless?
In the first two games of this series — which were, by all accounts, extremely physical contests — the Penguins and Islanders accounted for 162 hits in six periods plus 4:39 of overtime.
They combined for 162 Sunday.
Word choice
Facing a three-games-to-none deficit in the series, it’s inevitable that someone will say the Penguins are a desperate team.
Don’t expect Sullivan to be one of them.
Before Sunday’s game, Sullivan explained why he hates that word and tries to avoid using it.
“A lot of people use the word desperation to describe certain situations," Sullivan said. "I’m not sure I like that word because it implies a certain level of hopelessness associated with it. ... I just don’t think that’s the mindset that we need.
“We’re in complete control of the circumstance. We just have to make sure we go out and we win a game.
"We can’t control what’s going to happen three days from now, and we certainly can’t change what’s already occurred. All we can do at this point is respond the right way and stay in the moment.”
First Published: April 14, 2019, 4:12 p.m.