Derek Stepan predicted the pass, but even he couldn't have envisioned the context.
Before Sunday's game, Stepan told teammate Niklas Hjalmarsson that Hjalmarsson would find him with a backhand pass. Hjalmarsson was playing his first game in 43 games since suffering a broken leg in October.
As it turned out, Hjalmarsson did find Stepan with that backhand pass, but it wasn't a defensive-zone exit or a clearing play on the penalty kill, two trademark maneuvers that make Hjalmarsson such a valuable defenseman.
It was a play along the offensive half-wall, and it hit a wide-open Stepan in front of the Pittsburgh Penguins net.