We are eight games into the 2025-26 season, and this Pittsburgh Penguins' team is certainly no joke right now.
Of course, a lot can change. A lot can happen. But, with every passing game, it's looking more and more like the Penguins aren't the team that so many people - including their own general manager and president of hockey operations, to an extent - thought they would be.
And it hasn't been more palpable than it was in their latest win against the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.
On Thursday, the Penguins bested the Florida Panthers, 5-3, and it certainly wasn't a win that came easy to them. The Panthers came in waves during this game, and they outshot the Penguins, 37-16.
But every time the Panthers threw a punch, the Penguins punched back. And it was that relentless effort that earned them their fourth consecutive win and 12th point, which is tied for the most in hockey right now.
Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby kicked off the scoring in the first period with a power play snipe, which gave him his fifth of the season and 630th goal of his career. Even though Pittsburgh went up early, though, it never really felt like they asserted control in the first.
Rickard Rakell notched his third of the year when he chipped in a loose puck near the blue paint, which was the result of a hard-working shift by Crosby and a subsequent shot by Karlsson. Crosby's secondary assist tied him with Mario Lemieux for the most multi-point games in franchise history with 497.
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Less than two minutes later, though, Penguins' defenseman Connor Clifton took a hooking penalty, and Brad Marchand cut Pittsburgh's lead in half on the ensuing power play. The Panthers had all of the momentum in the following minutes. They were swarming the Penguins and hemming them in their own zone.
Then, well, Ben Kindel happened.
The Penguins' 18-year-old rookie and his line were on the right side of the offensive blue line, and Kindel took a short pass from linemate Tommy Novak. Kindel passed it back to Novak in the slot, and Novak read that Kindel was drifting back and settling into the left circle to set up for a one-timer.
Novak continued the give-and-go and put it on a platter for Kindel, who blasted a rocket past Sergei Bobrovsky for his second of the season and put the Penguins back up, 3-1.
And even if the Penguins carried that score into second intermission, the back-and-forth didn't stop. Evgeni Malkin took an ill-advised offensive zone penalty early in the third, and Sam Reinhart capitalized on the man advantage for Florida to pull the game back to within one.
But, once again, the Penguins responded. A little more than two minutes later, Connor Dewar - who had 19 goals in 221 career games prior to his arrival in Pittsburgh at the trade deadline last season - scored his seventh goal in 25 games with the Penguins and his third of the season off a hard-working play in the slot and a miss by Bobrovsky.
A few minutes later, Marchand scored again to cut the deficit to 4-3, but - just 28 seconds later - Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad took an interference penalty. And Crosby was ready.
He registered his second power play goal of the game to finish up a gorgeous tic-tac-toe play by Malkin and Rakell to make it 5-3 with a little more than eight minutes left on the clock. The tally gave him his team-leading sixth of the season and third point of the night, and it put him just two points shy of 1,700 for his career.
Even then, nothing was set in stone. Penguins' goaltender Tristan Jarry had to come up with some huge saves late in the game - including a scorpion-esque pad save on Marchand - and Pittsburgh had to weather the storm during the six-on-five at the end.
But they pulled through, showcasing not only the resilience and relentlessness of this team, but also its ability to win in many different ways this season.
Here are just a few thoughts from this one:
- Before I get to the team as a whole, I want to briefly point out a few standout individuals in this game. And I want to start with Jarry.
Jarry was outstanding, and there is no other way around it. The save he made in the third period was simply ridiculous, and he looks so much more confident and poised in his goal crease than he has in a very long time.
We've seen Jarry excel early in the season before, and he has historically put up good numbers when he has competition breathing down his neck for playing time. This year, that's coming in the form of Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov in the AHL, both of whom have also started strong.
So, we'll see if it's sustainable. But him playing with confidence - especially after the disastrous season he had in 2024-25 - is a big development for him and for the Penguins.
- Kindel is unbelievable. I don't really know what else to say about this kid. The noggin between the shoulders on this 18-year-old is so unbelievably advanced, and he showcases those hockey smarts on a night-in, night-out basis.
Sorry, Calgary. This kid should not be going anywhere but Pittsburgh - and wherever the NHL club heads on the road - for the remainder of the season. He's the most impressive forward prospect I've seen from the Penguins in a long, long time.
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If there is any doubt in anyone's mind about the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> selecting Ben Kindel with their 11th overall pick in 2025, it's probably a good time to rethink that.
- Erik Karlsson has been at the top of his game this season, and he was phenomenal again tonight. He's generating chances left and right, and he's playing so much smarter than he has at any point as a member of the Penguins. His defensive partner, Parker Wotherspoon, has certainly been helping, too.
If Karlsson can keep this level, the Penguins could very well keep up what they're doing this season. He's that important to this team and how it performs.
- Crosby continues to defy Father Time, and it's marvelous to witness. He now has six goals and 11 points on the season, and his line hasn't even heated up yet.
This guy is just getting started this season. It could be another special year for him.
- Speaking of special, how about this start for the Penguins?
They are atop the league standings, they're playing mostly responsible defensive hockey, they're getting good goaltending, and they're getting contributions from everywhere in the lineup, whether it's been the teenage rookies in Kindel and Harrison Brunicke - who was scratched Thursday as part of his development plan - or veterans like Malkin and Crosby. Their players on "prove-it" deals like Wotherspoon, Dewar, and Justin Brazeau are all making statements, too.
Everyone keeps saying it because it's true, but it is very early. So much can happen in an 82-game season. But there is something that is palpably different about this Penguins' team. It has a different energy. It has heart. It has a solid structural foundation that hasn't been present in several years.
The jury is out on whether or not they can sustain this level of play. But they're playing for each other, and the new coaching staff is getting the most out of everyone on this roster.
It's truly remarkable. And the rest of the league is starting to take notice - even Panthers' head coach Paul Maurice, who spoke frankly about the Penguins ahead of this game.
"They've earned it," Maurice said. "They haven't been lucky."
The Penguins have earned every point they've gotten so far this season. If they can continue this momentum through the rest of the calendar year, I imagine conversations around this team - and its plans for the trade deadline this season - will change quite drastically.
This team is fun. Enjoy it, however long it lasts.
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