His tape-to-tape pass was wonderful. It set up the first of Bryan Rust’s two goals, which sent the Penguins flying Thursday night, not just past the Tampa Bay Lighting in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final, but all the way to the Stanley Cup final against the San Jose Sharks.
His five-game points streak also is impressive. Among the Penguins, only Evgeni Malkin has one that long going.
But what really jumped out about Chris Kunitz’s game in the 2-1 win was his willingness to mix it up with the Tampa Bay giants. He practically leaped into the scrum after Cedric Paquette and Penguins defenseman Ian Cole had a dust-up.