Column: Savor Exhibit A of that power play ⁵²

Derrick Pouliot shields the puck against an Arizona forechecker Saturday at Consol. — GETTY

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

The sickening crash of Kris Letang to the Consol Energy Center ice, first his upper back to the surface, then his helmeted head into the end boards, will and should override anything else accompanying the Penguins’ 3-2 comeback over the Coyotes this afternoon.

As one team executive put it outside the locker room shortly after the final horn, “Don’t ask me how I’m doing. Right now, I’ve got no idea.”

Thoroughly understood and appreciated.

Letang was hit by Phoenix’s Shane Doan in the second period, momentarily after making a head-man pass out of the Pittsburgh zone. To my view — and I respect that others are entitled to their own — Doan followed through on a check just as Letang was awkwardly adjusting his balance after releasing the puck. And once that occurred, Doan’s push resulted in Letang spilling hard and staying prone for nearly three minutes amid a hush in the arena.

Take a look for yourself.

All Mike Johnston disclosed afterward was that Letang had been taken to the hospital, though it was telling, and perhaps encouraging, that he wouldn’t even rule out Letang returning tomorrow against the Sharks. That, as well as stuff behind the scenes, sounded more encouraging than not, even if Letang is being held overnight for observation.

The bulk of the buzz, naturally, was on the legality of the check, since no penalty was called and the crowd was vocally displeased about it. So let’s get that out of the way.

Two things matter here, per the NHL rulebook:

1. The hit can’t be late.

I don’t think it is. I’ve seen it timed already, by one Canadian outlet studying the video, at .54 seconds. That’s well within league guidelines for late hits, including as it pertains to suspensions. There was much fuss on social media about how far the puck was up ice when contact was made. That’s irrelevant. All that matters is time elapsed between the release of the pass and the check.

2. The victim can’t be driven into the boards.

This is murkier. Letang was close enough to the boards for Doan to have boarded him, but the push itself hardly came across as having sufficient force for that intent. And the mere fact that Letang landed on his back, then slid into the end boards probably discounts this, as well. Boarding is almost never called boarding unless the victim first strikes the boards.

Johnston claimed he didn’t see the check, which given his precise memory of every minute detail of every game struck me as implausible, but maybe he just wanted to stay out of the fray. The Penguins’ players didn’t offer much more than that. Some expressed dismay at the necessity of the hit, some wondered if maybe it was late, but there was nothing remotely in the realm of outrage.

Even Steve Downie, who picked up mega-brownie points and probably a few FuelPerks for later fighting Doan then ramming home a sensational slap shot, sounded like he had no issue with the legality: “He’s a hard player. He’s going to finish his hits,” Downie said of Doan. “It was unfortunate the way Tanger fell, but I have nothing but respect for Doan. He did the right thing. That’s hockey right there.”

And this was informative, too, from Doan: “He’s so good. We talk about it, how you can’t let him jump by you, and I just went to make sure I got a piece of him so he couldn’t jump by me. And obviously, he went into the boards awkward. We have to finish our checks on him. I hit him just to stop him from jumping by … and you never ever want to see anyone like that, especially a guy with his caliber and everything he’s went through in the past couple years, you never want to see that.”

Teams finish their checks on Letang. It’s part of being Letang.

That’s that, as far as I’m concerned. Further word on his health is expected tomorrow morning. Here’s hoping for the best for someone who, as Doan cited, really could use better luck.

Now, all that said, there was one moment of this game that just might matter quite a bit for these Penguins going forward, and it doesn’t deserve to get lost amid all the rest.

Enjoy …

Wow, right?

This is what archaeologists commonly refer to as a power-play goal.

Regular readers will recognize the formation, even though it’s only been a figment of my imagination to this point, but there it was, each man in exactly the right spot doing exactly the right thing:

• Paul Martin, this team’s smartest power-play performer, was on the ice only because Letang was out, but you could see the value right away. Rather than blindly flick a pass or shot in the direction of the net, he waited and moved it the right way. One shortcoming of this power play, in my view, has been a blind acceptance of the coaching staff’s shoot-everything decree. There are times to dish. Martin knows the difference.

• Evgeni Malkin was on the half-wall. I’ve advocated for Malkin in the high slot or anywhere other than the point, but this is ideal. Unlike Crosby, he’s a legit threat to shoot. Unlike with Crosby, the Coyotes’ defenders had to take that threat seriously, if you watch how they veer his way. So when Malkin goes cross-ice to Derrick Pouliot, he gets an actual lane.

• Pouliot, who was born on the power play, skates up the left side and looks over the scene. And again, rather than just making a play to make a play, he keeps his head up and sees not one but two bodies near Mike Smith’s crease. He aims it their way.

• Patric Hornqvist goes to the net. Of course he does. And he takes two Coyotes with him.

• Crosby goes to the net.

I’ll let that last sentence marinate a moment.

The captain sees the traffic, sees the opportunity and, rather than simply standing off to the side and surveying, he opts to get involved. And in doing so, the puck clanks off him for maybe the ugliest, maybe the prettiest goal he’s scored all season, depending on one’s perspective.

I asked Pouliot, Crosby and Johnston to take us through the sequence …

There’s negative reinforcement and positive. I’ve always preferred the latter. The Penguins are a team, if you ask me, that will go as far in the Stanley Cup playoffs as their power play will push them. Other factors will be secondary.

If they want to get serious about fixing it, they now have Exhibit A.