Staal talented, tough, lucky kid
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Penguins center Jordan Staal was in no mood to celebrate an impressive career milestone. Not on a night when his team gave a lifeless effort in a 4-1 home loss to the Ottawa Senators. Not after he went a fifth consecutive game without a point and an 11th consecutive game without a goal.
But that milestone is worth celebrating, nonetheless.
Staal became the youngest player in NHL history to play his 300th game.
It seems as if the kid has been around forever, but he was just 21 years and 140 days old as of Thursday night when they dropped the puck at Mellon Arena.
Wow.
That's my word, not Staal's. His reaction was typically understated after the game. He barely blinked when an equipment staffer gave him a game puck as a souvenir with the date and opponent written on it in white ink.
"I'm glad they left off the score," Staal said dryly.
Sure, it would have been sweeter if the Penguins had won. But they were outworked all night by the Senators, who easily could be their first-round playoff opponent. It's nice to think the Penguins will play with a little more passion if the teams meet again in April. They couldn't solve Senators goaltender Brian Elliott after an Evgeni Malkin goal just 94 seconds into the game. And their goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, had a tough night, allowing a couple of soft goals.
Still, 300 games are 300 games.
And to be just 21?
It's worth repeating:
Wow.
"I'm proud of it," Staal said quietly. "I want to play in a lot more."
You have to be phenomenally talented, tough as they come and awfully lucky to get to 300 games so quickly. Staal is all three.
The talent showed from the start when Staal made the Penguins to open the 2006-07 season, only a few weeks past his 18th birthday. He blew away his coaches and teammates with his instincts and knowledge of the game. He scored 29 goals that rookie season, but that's not what separated him from so many other players in the league. He was so good and so sound defensively and as a penalty killer. He was responsible, which is a wonderful word to describe a young player.
Still is.
"He's a player who has continued to grow," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said, perking up just a bit at the mention of Staal's name after this lame performance by his team. "He's skating better than ever. He's playing more physical than ever ...
First Published January 29, 2010 12:00 am
