If you were watching hockey for the first time when the Penguins came back from a four-goal deficit to beat the Blue Jackets, 5-4, in overtime Tuesday here at PPG Paints Arena, I guarantee you never would've suspected Alex Nylander was playing in his first NHL game in nearly three years.
Said another way, it shouldn't have taken nearly this long for him to make his way into the lineup.
Alas, the absence of both Bryan Rust (personal reasons) and Mikael Granlund (illness) forced the Penguins to recall Nylander from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL on an emergency basis in order to have enough skaters against the Blue Jackets.