But Martone wasn't the only player who looked tired. Denver Barkey, a 21-year-old rookie forward who was part of a strong forecheck early in the series and scored in Game 4, had three shots on goal in the final two games. Alex Bump, a 22-year-old rookie forward, scored a goal and had nine shot attempts (four on goal) in Game 5, but was limited to two shots on goal in Game 6.
"There's some young guys, 'Ports' has hit a little bit of a wall," Tocchet said. "The last thing he needs is a ton of information. Probably needs a couple of points for his game to help his game, no different than the Bumpers, the (Matvei) Michkovs of the world. A little bit less is more, but the points we're giving them have to be heightened. So instead of six or seven points, give them two points but these are really important two points that you're going to have to do, especially against Carolina. That might help, especially the young guys."
Michkov, who was scratched for Game 5, responded with his best game of the series in Game 6. He nearly scored on a breakaway with 4:33 left in the second period, and later in that shift, almost stuffed a loose puck in the crease between Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs and the post. In overtime, he used his body to protect the puck while being defended by Ben Kindel at the Pittsburgh blue line and made a backhand pass to York to set up his goal.
His 17:26 of ice time was a series high, and the third most the 21-year-old has played this season.
"I thought last night was a building block for him," Tocchet said. "There's still stuff that he has to work on, like everybody, like 'Barks' and Bump. He's no different. I think the building blocks, a great assist, a nice backhand to 'Yorkie.' So you got to give him credit in some areas of the game that he helped us last night. So, can he build the next game? That's really what it comes down to, the building blocks."
