‘Confidence and Opportunity’: Penguins Create Monster with Evan Rodrigues (+)

“Confidence. I’ve said it time and time again. It’s just opportunity and confidence,” Evan Rodrigues replied to Pittsburgh Hockey Now after his three-point night helped to beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.

It appeared Rodrigues had four points on Tuesday because he could have been scored an assist on Brian Dumoulin’s third period goal. However, because a Canadiens defender deflected the puck, it was “almost” a four-point game.

Rodrigues has 22 points this season, including nine goals in 28 games, which is a 26-goal pace.

Scoring at a 26 goal-pace is not a bad tally for any player, but Rodrigues isn’t an ordinary player and certainly not on an ordinary career arc. After a few years of riding the pine, press box nachos, and being traded to and from the Penguins before re-signing a one-year bargain deal last summer, Rodrigues was a depth option who wasn’t guaranteed much in training camp.

Hey, if you’re a depth guy, you might get 20 points in a season. You may find yourself on Sidney Crosby’s line by accident. You may find yourself in a different part of the world. And you may ask yourself, how did I get here?