The expectations placed on the Penguins over the summer were meager at best. Many considered them a bottom-five NHL team. Calls to tank and potentially draft Penn State’s Gavin McKenna weren’t exactly quiet.

Oh, and Pat Brisson, the longtime agent for Sidney Crosby, questioned when the Penguins would again play competitive hockey and teased the idea of his client leaving Pittsburgh.

For those outside the Penguins dressing room, it’s been a stark about-face. The positive of positive stories in the NHL.

But inside — the Penguins at 10-5-4 through nearly a quarter of the season and tied for the third-most points in the Eastern Conference (24) entering Wednesday’s game — their upward ascent is viewed much differently.

Especially by Crosby.

“I don’t think anyone was thinking too far ahead,

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