PITTSBURGH — The Penguins' dressing room had a feisty and proud edge to it late Saturday night following a 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators at PPG Paints Arena.

The past 24 hours were equal parts surprising and emotional, the result of a midnight trade with the Vancouver Canucks. Franchise legend Patric Hornqvist was also in the building for his bobblehead night, as the Uptown barn was filled for what felt like the first time since Christmas.

But as Rickard Rakell peeled the tape off his socks, unlaced and skates and seemed to let out a sigh of relief while seated at his locker stall, the emotions surrounding this team became pretty clear.

"It's never fun to see some of your best friends traded," Rakell told me. "But it's part of the game, and we wish them the best.

"It feels good to get the win. Hopefully we can build on this."

What happened against the Predators might not change much in the grand scheme of things. Nashville has slogged its way to just 43 points, nine fewer than the Penguins, and has been a huge letdown following what it did this past offseason.

The Penguins are still a ways from the postseason, and it's entirely possible that more trades are coming. But what happened during a 24-hour stretch Friday into Saturday felt encouraging for a group that has gone through it this season.

It's something that surely made Hornqvist proud.

Coach Mike Sullivan's team won because it played a simple, structured game, something that has been elusive for the Penguins. They've now won back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 17-19, and this was actually their first shutout all year.

It was a strong defensive game from the home team, not allowing much at 5-on-5, and it came with two new players — Danton Heinen and Vincent Desharnais — in the lineup.

"I thought the guys who came in [Saturday] did really well for us," Rakell continued. "They looked so comfortable."

The entire group did, honestly. Which is no small feat given the peaks and valleys felt on their 3-4 road trip. From where might some of that stem? Let's explore:

Setting the tone

Start at the top. Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas did extremely well for himself in trading away Marcus Pettersson and Drew O'Connor, perhaps leveraging Jim Rutherford's knowledge of both players and his affinity for them.

Could Dubas have gotten a first-round pick, two NHL players and a prospect from anyone? I have my doubts. It was a terrific trade and one that fits what the Penguins are trying to do. But it doesn't end there.

Perfect approach

Sullivan's smarts were visible here in what he chose not to do. With the Canucks in Dallas on Friday night, Heinen and Desharnais talked about being on short sleep and arriving at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex Saturday bleary-eyed and nervous.

"A whirlwind," Heinen called it. "Quick turnaround, but I think it's better that way."

"It's been a crazy day," Desharnais added, glancing over to the clock in the home dressing room. "It hasn't even been 24 hours yet."

The key here: Sullivan and his coaching staff made a concerted effort to not overwhelm either guy. They reviewed big-picture concepts within the Penguins' system, then sent the guys off to work with David Quinn and Mike Vellucci for more position-specific work.

Less is more, Sullivan told them. Rely on your instincts. There would be no over-coaching here. And good on Sullivan for taking the exact right approach.

"I've always been a big believer that when we bring guys into our group, we try to not paralyze them with too much information," Sullivan said. "We want them to play the game with a free spirit and have the ability to trust their instincts."

For what it's worth, Heinen handled himself fine in a middle-six role. He attempted four shots, put three on net and enjoyed two high-danger changes. Sullivan said postgame that he expects to bounce Heinen around what should be a fairly fluid middle-six.

Desharnais delivered two hits, blocked four shots and found himself on the ice when the Predators pulled their goalie, an instant display of trust. His third pairing alongside Ryan Graves was hardly an issue.

"It's nothing pretty," Desharnais said of his game. "I'm just trying to be consistent."

Stars shining

Leave the flash for others because that was a part of this, too. From an all-too-predictable source, too.

Midway through the second period, with the Penguins playing a tight-checking, responsible game, Rakell took a calculated risk — one that worked out brilliantly.

After curling out above the circle, he zipped a pinpoint pass across the slot — something you only do if you know it's there — to Sidney Crosby, who finished from one knee to stretch his goal-scoring streak to four.

Philip Tomasino had the first goal (his second in 13 contests) and Bryan Rust tacked on an empty-netter to reach 20 for the sixth straight season.

The sequence reinforced Rakell's excellent year but also the still-elite offense from you-know-who, the man who waited around to meet Desharnais and say hello again to Heinen, the captain whose ability and drive are at the center of everything the Penguins do.

"I thought we were good in every area," Crosby would say later. "Hopefully we can keep building on that."

Crosby's right. The Penguins didn't put Nashville on the power play. They controlled territory. They did not allow a bevy of Grade A scoring chances, and when they did deviate from what was a solid blueprint, Alex Nedeljkovic offered a reminder of what's possible when the Penguins get strong goaltending.

Don't look now, but Nedeljkovic is heating up. He began the game second among NHL goaltenders since Jan. 17 with 147 saves and a .930 save percentage. Add to that stops on all 25 shots he faced Saturday.

"Huge game for Ned," Sullivan said. "It was a huge game for our team."

Should the Penguins make some sort of improbable run at the postseason, they'll need this level of performance from Ned, who authored something similar last season.

He knows it, too.

"Every game now is important," Nedeljkovic said. "Not that they weren't before, but we dug ourselves a hole again. We know what it's going to take to get out of it.

"We've got to bring our 'A game' every single night, and if we don't have it, we've got to find a way to win with our 'B game.' And we can't have much worse than that, quite frankly. We've got to bring it every night."

Bigger picture

A year ago, the Penguins cratered after the Jake Guentzel trade, a point Dubas made when he addressed reporters following Saturday's morning skate. So far, it's the opposite this time around, the Penguins handling this about as well as anyone could expect.

It was encouraging to see.

At the same time, my interest with this team involves more than how the Penguins finish the season.

It's with Dubas making more moves like this one, plus Ville Koivunen (five goals and nine points in his last four games before Saturday) and Vasily Ponomarev (four goals and seven points in his last four) thriving in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and making it to Pittsburgh. Koivunen, in fact, leads all AHL rookies in points (36) and ranks second in goals (15) and assists (16). I'm eager to see how he and others transition to Pittsburgh.

The NHL salary cap increasing by $7.5 million before next season helps the Penguins. Ditto for the growing belief that they can win by playing a simpler style while deploying players who are capable of executing it and a bigger-picture plan that's coming more into focus — even if it's not on the immediate horizon.

With all of that happening underneath the surface, the Penguins gathered themselves and delivered a terrific effort against Nashville, an organization-wide trend they hope to continue Tuesday and beyond.

"It's an emotional day for everyone, for obvious reasons," Sullivan said. "They did a really good job of keeping the focus on the game and staying in the moment. That was something that we talked about. Just trying to play the game the right way, pay attention to detail, take what the game gives you, trust your instincts and play with energy. I thought the guys did a great job."

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