PITTSBURGH — Lee Stempniak sees a lot of his hometown in his adopted new one.
A Buffalo native, Stempniak brings a simple, hard-working, blue-collar mentality that he believes should serve him in well in Pittsburgh. Through his first four games with the Penguins, a small sample size, it’s hard to argue with Stempniak’s rationale.
Since being traded from Calgary at last week’s NHL trade deadline, Stempniak has meshed nearly seamlessly onto the Penguins’ top line with center Sidney Crosby and left wing Chris Kunitz. No small task considering the skill level of the NHL’s leading and 21st-leading scorers, not to mention gold medal-winning Olympians.
The 31-year-old Stempniak has three assists in four games, a positive development for a team that had been desperate to fill the sizable void left by Pascal Dupuis’ season-ending knee injury. Dan Bylsma likes what he’s seen, but the Penguins’ coach believes the trio can only get better with more time.
“He’s getting acquainted,” Bylsma said. “The last two games, I thought he’s done a really good job. Sometimes it’s the simple plays, the smart plays, that play well with Crosby.
“(Stempniak’s) played hard on pucks, he’s won pucks, been able to support the puck and they’ve been able to get good plays, offensive zone time, because of it. I don’t even think he’s played his best yet. He’s only getting started, in that regard, of fitting in and being with those two guys.”
In his nine-year, NHL career, Stempniak experienced some of his greatest success in St. Louis, where he scored 27 goals in 2006-07 while playing with the likes of David Backes, Bill Guerin and Doug Weight.
In 2010, when he was traded from Toronto to Phoenix, Stempniak was one of the biggest names moved at the deadline. But, after scoring a career-best 28 goals, he added just two assists in seven games as Phoenix was bounced in the first round by Detroit.
Four years later, Stempniak is again on the move and this time to a Penguins team with more realistic Stanley Cup aspirations. How far they go could depend on how Stempniak fits in.
After the first two games in which he admits to forcing the puck too much to Crosby – “he thinks the game like no one else” – and too much in awe of the captain’s ability to handle the puck in his skates at full speed, Stempniak says he’s getting acclimated.
“It’s talking through things a little bit,” Stempniak said after Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Washington. “The three of us on the bench just have an open dialogue, what each other is thinking. I think part of it, for me, is not to force the puck to Sid too much. I think the first couple games, I’d get it and try and throw it to him. He’s covered some times. He’s a great player but it’s not always the right play to get it to him. A lot of time’s it is, but part of that is believing in yourself and carrying the puck and making the right play and trusting that when you see him open, you’ll make the right play.”
Stempniak made a lot of right plays in the Penguins’ sweep of the home-and-home against the Capitals this week. He had a couple of excellent chances to score in the second period Tuesday but couldn’t convert. Still, Stempniak received a warm ovation from the home crowd for his efforts. It didn’t go unnoticed.
“People respect hard work,” Stempniak said. “I’m from Buffalo. Pittsburgh seems to be from that same mold, that hard-working mentality that people appreciate. It’s nice to be recognized like that.”
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