In summary, McCann ties the game against the storied franchise that "brought my career back to life" but then traded him to Toronto last summer so the Maple Leafs could leave him unprotected in hopes the Kraken would pick "Canner" instead of fellow forward Alex Kerfoot.
Johansson gets an assist and balances out the goalie interference call on him that enabled Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin to break a scoreless tie mid-third period-though even the Penguins telecast questioned whether it was interference on "Jojo" or instead a rugged, relentless, puck-smart player trying to score on the rush.
Dunn, who received high praise from McCann and Hakstol ("simple but real good play by 'Dunner,'" said Hakstol) for his deke and quick-release shot, gets hockey's version of goal-post karma. He clanged iron earlier in the third period on a similar shot, this time from the left point inside the blue line. All karmic debts repaid.
For his part, alternate captain Eberle raised his stick in goal-celebration as high as anyone. Maybe his karmic moment comes Saturday when he and Seattle face the New York Islanders in their brand-new arena. Eberle starred for NYI over three postseasons, most memorably scoring clutch goals against these same Penguins in this same building.
As Hakstol said earlier Thursday, Eberle is continuing to get Grade-A scoring chances or "looks, which hockey parlance for if you get the chances, the goals will come." Hey, hockey gods, you can jump in here for "Ebs" anytime.
The Nickname Game
Hockey reporters don't lean into nicknames while describing actions or evaluating a player's performance. There's a time and place and this day is that. Fans might notice that Dave Hakstol calls pretty much every player by his nickname as given by teammates.
Many of those nicknames, such as "Turbo" for Brandon Tanev (he was missed by fans in Pittsburgh and announced during the in-arena game presentation even though he didn't travel East with the Kraken) originate from other NHL stops before Kraken players were drafted, acquired or signed.