Mar 6, 2007 3 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – After just three games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Gary Roberts has shown why a player like him can be so valuable to a young team embarking on its first playoff stretch drive. Roberts, 40, was acquired in a trade from the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. And in his home debut Sunday, the left winger had the kind of game Penguins general manager Ray Shero must have envisioned when he sent promising young defenseman Noah Welch to Florida in exchange for him.

Roberts had one goal, two assists, a team-high four hits and was a plus-one as the Penguins came from behind to earn two points in a 4-3 shootout victory against Philadelphia.

Just as important as what Roberts brought to the stat sheet was the physical play and energy he brought to the Penguins, a team with perhaps the youngest core players in hockey.

“That’s him,” league scoring leader Sidney Crosby said. “That’s the way he plays, and this time of year, you need guys like that. He’s been through it so many times, and you see the results of that. He was a huge pickup for our team. When you’re down 2-0, you get life from those big hits and those big plays he provides. He makes a difference.”

Roberts had two mediocre performances as Pittsburgh went 1-1 on a road trip late last week. He admitted putting too much pressure on himself to impress his new teammates. But Sunday was classic Roberts, a 19-season veteran of 425 career goals.

“You could see his intensity on this ice,” winger Colby Armstrong said. “Guys can feed off that. You can see he’s a leader on the team already since he’s been here. … He plays the game the way it should be played.”

Coach Michel Therrien has been trying to find the right line combinations since the roster was altered slightly at the trade deadline. Roberts has seen time on the power play in the past two games, and he was moved from a line with Crosby to one centered by Erik Christensen on Sunday. Christensen responded immediately with two goals.

“Gary Roberts on the forecheck creates a lot of space, and when you give space to a guy like Christensen, you see what happens,” Therrien said. “You talk about being a warrior on the ice, he was a real warrior. He was skating, forechecking, playing around the net. He’s a tough guy to play against.”

Roberts prefers to let his actions do the talking.

“It isn’t like you come in here and start preaching,” he said. “Basically, you come and play the way I have played my whole career. … It’s just trying to lead by example, come and play hard every day.”