Loss or not, O'Connor's masterful shorty worth celebrating

... uh, yeah, let's all have a cyber-seat here, huh?

Because that, my friends, was the goal of the year in our city. Any player. Any team.

"Incredible goal," Mike Sullivan would reply to my question on the subject. "You know, I thought OC had a real inspiring effort tonight. He played really hard. That goal is an example of it. You see his strength, his skating ability and a scoring touch. It was a terrific goal. It gave the whole building energy and the team as well. We talked in between periods about just getting the next goal to get it in striking distance. If we could get it within one goal, we're right there. And that goal did it for us. We had a lot of momentum after that."

I'll slice up the specifics in a spell, but start with the setting: Boston led, 4-2, entering the third period, then was gifted a power play on what'd wind up the first of three flagrant dives by David Pastrnak in that period alone. A power play was pending for the visitors, and the place had fallen more silent than a suburban mall.

Not great.

But one of the undercurrents of the Penguins' 8-0-3 points streak that ended here was the consistent -- and most blessed -- blossoming of this young man, as O'Connor, still just 25 years old, has now scored six of his season's 16 goals in these past dozen games, plus so much more. He's forechecking now not only with fire but with a formula, winning the puck and creating as opposed to simply wreaking havoc for others. He's passing with precision. He's shooting, as the above snipe powerfully illustrates, with the same.

He's becoming more complete. He's morphing, I'd say, in a Bryan Rust way, toward belonging among the top-six forwards.

Speaking of which:

That's Erik Karlsson up to Sidney Crosby, and a chip from the captain on further to O'Connor, who creates everything else. Of note, check O'Connor's tiny touch pass to himself to tapdance around Boston defenseman -- yes, defenseman -- Matt Grzelcyk at the attacking blue line. It makes the play, maybe even more than the 35-foot threading of the needle through to Rust or, for that matter, the awareness that Rust, a right-handed shooter, would have to present the back of his blade on the rush.

That pulled the Penguins within one goal, but it'd just serve as the opening act for the next one that achieved that same deficit.

Presenting it again, but with additional angles:

And be sure the sound's up, as well, to feel that crowd reaction. Might as well have blown the roof off, building up with each passing stride to a crescendo.

The sequence begins, as so much goodness has this season, with Lars Eller's smarts. He cuts off Charlie McAvoy's possession at the left power-play point, somehow magnetizes the puck to his stick and, rather than simply flicking the puck to the far end, fires a rocket pass that finds O'Connor in stride at center red.

My first question for O'Connor was whether or not he'd take questions on the goal, given the dispiriting nature of the loss. He didn't say so, but his mannerism kinda hinted that he didn't want to.

My second question, undaunted: How the hell did he catch that Eller pass cleanly?

"Because he put it right on my blade," he'd reply with a small smile. "That's what he does."

My third question, sensing the breakthrough: What about the rest?

"They had a forward back," he'd continue, referring to Brad Marchand, who's about the size of one of O'Connor's legs. "So I just wanted to bank it by him off the boards and see if I could get to it first."

Which he did. It's a playground move.

My fourth question: How's he beat Linus Ullmark, left-handed to the glove side, when there really wasn't any short-side showing?

"I closed my eyes."

Ha! OK, I give up!

But only after a fifth question on what was actually of interest to him in the moment: What now for these Penguins, four points back of the Islanders for third place in the Metro and one point back of the Capitals, Red Wings and Flyers for the Eastern Conference's final wild card spot?

"Just gotta win the next one," he told me, referring the Monday home game against the Predators. "I mean, we're still in it. We're right in it. Obviously, we would've liked to have had this one. But we're in it until we're not in it."

Even if they're not in it, though, once the regular season ends Wednesday against the Islanders in Elmont, N.Y., there might not be a brighter beacon for the future of the franchise than this kid. And not because the system's been pretty much bankrupt for a decade and change but, rather, because he's busting out: Through 78 games spread over his first three seasons in Pittsburgh, he'd combined for eight goals and nine assists, relegated primarily to a checking/forechecking role and seldom with the top six. But seizing upon his opportunities this season, particularly since the Jake Guentzel trade, his 77-game output to date has him 16 goals, 17 assists and a plus-14 rating that's best among all forwards on the roster.

I'll ask him about that, too, at a better time. He'll be here a while.

• My main Grind covers the costly loss.