Remember Sidney Crosby's first goal in his first game after missing months and months with his concussion and neck issues?
It was Nov. 21, 2011, against the New York Islanders. Crosby beat goaltender Anders Nilsson with a terrific back-handed shot early in a 5-0 win before unleashing a double-fist pump and primal scream that could be heard all the way to Sewickley.
That gives you a pretty good idea how injury-haunted Jason Zucker felt about his goal Sunday against the Nashville Predators. It wasn't just his first goal since Jan. 17 and his first at home since Oct. 26. It tied the game midway through the third period and gave the Penguins a chance to win, 3-2, in overtime on Crosby's second goal of the night.
I'm guessing no one appreciated Zucker's goal more than Crosby.
"You love to see your teammates have success, especially when he's been through what he has," Crosby said.
Well, maybe Mike Sullivan appreciated Zucker's goal a little more because it helped the Penguins end a four-game losing streak.
"Obviously, a huge goal for him and for us," Sullivan said. "I was thrilled for him."
To say Zucker is well-liked by his teammates and coaches is an understatement.
"I love him," Sullivan said.
"He's such a great teammate. He's a competitive guy. He plays the game so hard. And he cares."
Zucker proved that to his teammates early in the season when he fought through a core-muscle injury, something he believed he had to do because of injuries and illness with other players, including Evgeni Malkin. Although he had an excuse for just four goals and 11 points in the first 30 games, he didn't use it. "If I'm good enough to be in the lineup, I should be performing," he said in mid-January.
Zucker took seven games off before returning to the lineup Jan. 17 at Vegas. He scored two goals in a 5-3 win, but his elation was short-lived, his comeback limited to that one game. He knew his body wasn't right. He had surgery and missed the next 30 games.
That prompted another comeback, but this one didn't last even one game.
Zucker fell awkwardly into the boards and aggravated his injury during a game at Minnesota on March 31 after a shove by the Wild's Kevin Fiala. There was a fear he might be lost for the season, although he did his best to lighten the team's mood. "It was nice to be back ... for one period," he told his teammates that night in St. Paul.
This time, Zucker made a surprisingly quick recovery. He missed just three games before playing 9:20 in the 6-3 loss to Washington on Saturday.
"You see a guy when they're injured and what they have to go through and all the early mornings and the rehab and everything that comes with that," Crosby said. "It's not easy. To be in his situation and come back a couple of times just to get hurt and have to deal with it again. He's been unbelievable with attitude, his approach and the way he works. To see him get his first [goal] and for it to be a big one like that, that was huge."
Zucker took a pass from Crosby, who had a three-point night to hit 1,400 for his career, and backhanded the puck by Predators goaltender David Rittich. I'm guessing they also heard Zucker's celebratory scream in Sewickley. The other Penguins were just as happy for the man they call "Zuck."
"It was a huge boost for our bench," Sullivan said. "You could see the reaction of his teammates. That's a window into what they think about him."
When Sullivan said he loves Zucker as a player, he's not kidding. He made it a point to lean into Zucker's ear after the goal and deliver a message that must have lasted 30 seconds. Sullivan wouldn't share the details of their one-sided conversation so I am left to guess it went something like this:
"Your hard work paid off. No one deserved that goal more than you. That's just the first of many. We're going to need you down the stretch and into the playoffs."
And the Penguins will.
It's easy to imagine Zucker skating on Malkin's line with Rickard Rakell going forward.
"He's an important aspect of this team," Sullivan said. "He's missed a lot. It's not easy jumping into a competitive environment late in the season like this. He's trying to get up to speed the best he can."
And doing a pretty good job of it, if Sunday's goal is any indication.
