"They came right at us. No, actually, they went right through us."
Those were the words of Bryan Little, the Jets' No. 1 center, in an otherwise vacated Winnipeg locker room late Tuesday night at Consol Energy Center, and nothing could have better summed up the relevance -- in the short and long terms -- of the 5-3 victory the Penguins had just pulled off without Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.
For the home team, I mean.
Because for all else that went their way -- Kris Letang's five assists in his return from the Zac Rinaldo assault, the officials allowing the Penguins to score a goal with one too many men, the Jets blindly choosing to start Ondrej Pavelec in a city where he's historically good for a touchdown a game, Winnipeg as a franchise failing in Pittsburgh for the 14th consecutive time, etc. -- the Penguins' restored passion for the hockey stratagem known as the center drive took center stage.
To continue reading, log into your account:
