Gudbranson and Pettersson use their size to form a formidable pairing

They don't have a glitzy moniker - not yet - but plenty of clichéd ones are lying around unused. Like "The Twin Towers," or "The Skyscrapers."
But, dopey nickname aside, Eric Gudbranson and Marcus Pettersson are one tough defense tandem to play against.
Not just because they're tall.
But they certainly are tall.

Gudbranson stands 6-foot-5, Pettersson 6-3. (That's without skates.) The opposition has to battle long sticks, long strides and long arms. We're talking major wingspan.
"Our range across the blue line makes it tough for guys to beat us," Gudbranson said after the Penguins defeated visiting Florida 3-2 in overtime March 5. "One guy can get beat, but the other guy steps up and closes the time and space pretty quickly.
"[Pettersson] is a smart player. Positionally, he's very good. We support each other well."
Said Pettersson, "We can cover a lot of ice without having to move too much. We can stay in the right position and still cover a lot together. That's a huge advantage for us."
Coach Mike Sullivan is certainly happy with the tandem so far.
"They've been a pretty good pair," Sullivan said. "Marcus is a real good puck-mover. He sees the ice very well.
"They're both hard to play against just by nature of their size and their reach and their wingspan. They just take up a lot of space. They have the ability to use their sticks, and get their stick on the puck in a lot of situations.
"Eric brings a whole other level of physicality to the pair when he gets down into the battle areas: In the corners, and in front of the net. He's played a handful of games for us, and we've liked every game that he's played. And since we've put Marcus with him, we've liked that pair."
Today's NHL is speed-first, as Gudbranson and Pettersson realize. Even if big guys "kind of look slower, maybe," like Pettersson said.
"The game is built on skating, especially nowadays," Gudbranson said. "It's certainly something I've worked on my whole life, and I'm continuing to work on it. You need to be quick, especially with these little guys buzzing around. You need to be able to change direction very quickly, and be available very quickly."
Said Pettersson, "The game is very fast right now, so you've got to be able to skate. Skating is one of the things I've got to improve on most."
But size matters. Going around Gudbranson or Pettersson requires an unusually long trip.
"It's just tough to get around me," Gudbranson said. "Guys are moving so fast. By the time you get a step on me, you're in a worse spot than you think you are.
"It's about having good stick-on-puck and pushing guys outside. Sometimes they might think they have me beat, but my size helps with that."
Neither Gudbranson nor Pettersson started the season with the Penguins. Pettersson was acquired from Anaheim this past Dec. 3. Gudbranson came to Pittsburgh from Vancouver on Feb. 25, the NHL's trade deadline.
Gudbranson, an Ottawa native, had one assist and a plus-2 mark in his first three games with the Penguins.
"I think it's going pretty well," said Gudbranson, 27. "It's an easy team to step in and play with. They support the puck very well and it's an extremely detailed team."
Pettersson, 22, has two goals and 12 assists in 41 games with the Penguins. A native of Sweden, Pettersson is plus-10 since joining Pittsburgh.
BTW, Gudbranson and Pettersson come up relatively short in the context of Penguins history.
Winger Steve McKenna is 6-8. He did two stints with the Penguins between 2001 and '04. Defenseman Hal Gill (6-7) played for the Pens from 2008-09, competing in two Stanley Cup Finals and helping win the Cup in '09. Recently-departed defenseman Jamie Oleksiak is 6-7. Popular Francois Leroux (6-6) played defense with the Penguins from 1994-97. Kjell Samuelsson (6-6) manned the blue line for Pittsburgh from 1992-95, winning a championship in '92. Current forward Nick Bjugstad is 6-6.
Mario Lemieux is 6-4. But metaphorically, he stood tallest of all.
Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).