Kasperi Cap-Anen

After a tough stretch where he was out of the lineup as a healthy scratch, Kasperi Kapanen has made the most of his opportunity since slotting back in.

After getting the game-winner in Thursday's victory over Vegas, he scored a hat trick in Saturday's win against St. Louis.
"It was great. Really happy for him," teammate Jason Zucker said. "He's been working extremely hard all year. He's such a skilled player. It's good to see him especially getting the ones around the net. That's fun to see. It was it was great to be out there with him. Enjoyed celebrating that hat trick with him. It was pretty awesome to see."
The first of Kapanen's three goals came just 6:58 into the first period. Bryan Rust sent a pass over to P.O Joseph, who teed one up from the blueline. The puck bounced off of Kapanen's leg and ricocheted off Blues goalie Jordan Binnington before going into the net.
"I give Kap so much credit. I just think he's trying to play the game the right way," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's trying to get inside, he's going to the net, he's physical on the forecheck, and he's challenging defensemen with his speed."
Kapanen would get his second goal of the night against the Blues with 3:05 left in the first period, right at the end of a Pittsburgh man-advantage. Jeff Carter sent it over to Evgeni Malkin, who tried to sneak a shot past the goaltender. He grabbed the rebound, turned around, and fed it right to Kapanen - who got the puck just over the goalie's arm.
The hats would rain down for the first time this season for any Penguins player just over midway through the second period, when Kapanen completed his second career hat trick - the first one coming on Nov. 6, 2021 against Minnesota.
It was another power-play goal, with Rust sending a pass over to a wide-open Kapanen at the back door, who tapped the puck in to complete the hat trick.
"That might have been the easiest hat trick in history, just going by the post and kind of tapping them in," Kapanen said. "So, all the credit goes to Rusty and P.O and Geno for passing those to me."
While Kapanen insisted that all of the credit should go to his linemates, Sullivan had high praise for the winger's performance tonight. The head coach and general manager Ron Hextall had been adamant since training camp that the 26-year-old winger - who scored 20 goals with Toronto in 2018-19, and had 30 points in 40 games the next season with Pittsburgh - was capable of more, and that they believed in him.
Sullivan couldn't be prouder of the way Kapanen handled being out from nine of 10 games from Nov. 9-25 since coming back in on Nov. 29 versus Carolina.
"Obviously, it's not an easy experience when you're out of the lineup," he said. "That's hard for every player and that's never easy for a coach as well - having to make those types of decisions. I think Kappy has responded unbelievably well, and we're certainly thrilled for him."
Since being with the Penguins, this is Kapanen'sfirst back-to-back multi-point game, having accomplished this feat four times in his career - with the last dating back to Feb. 12-14, 2019. He is hoping to keep that momentum going moving forward.
"I think (the confidence) is building. It's a good sign," he said. "It hasn't been the easiest month or so. But just happy to be out there and playing games and winning games. And obviously, your confidence is going to grow."