Penguins Update: Scoring Depth Remains an Issue

Where have all the goals gone? A fair question. Especially in the wake of a wildly prolific stretch fueled by the incendiary production of superstars Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang.

Until recently the Penguins’ offense was really humming under Mike Sullivan. Then the injury bug bit hard. Eric Fehr went down during a wild 6-5 victory over Ottawa. All-Star Evgeni Malkin followed. He’s missed the past six games while nursing a lower-body injury.

Combined with earlier injuries to Nick Bonino and Beau Bennett, the maladies have taken an abrupt toll on the Pens’ production and exposed an old weakness—a lack of scoring depth. Indeed, after exploding for six goals during a victory over Anaheim on February 8, the black-and-gold has managed just two regulation tallies during their past three contests.

The power play—a veritable gusher in recent weeks—has dried up, too. The Pens have haven’t struck with the man-advantage since Letang’s overtime winner against Florida ten days ago. They’re 0-for-6 on the power play during that span.

While it’s nothing the return of a healthy Malkin and his towering offensive presence can’t cure, the Pens could use some help in the short run. Especially since top-six wingers Carl Hagelin, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel and Chris Kunitz are struggling to fill the void.

How about the kids?

Thus far, the cream of the organizational forward crop haven’t proven themselves up to the task. The erstwhile Baby Pens—Tom Kuhnhackl, Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary, Oskar Sundqvist and Scott Wilson—have combined for a paltry five goals. Factor in journeyman Kevin Porter (no goals in 34 games) and defenseman Derrick Pouliot (none in nine) and the numbers for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton crew get downright ugly.

A pity their output doesn’t match their effort. The kids bust their collective humps. In particular, Rust and Sheary create a ton of opportunities and help drive possession. However, sweat equity and hustle haven’t translated into goals. At least not enough.

While it’s true that—Pouliot aside—there isn’t a true blue-chipper in the bunch, the youngsters do possess some pedigree. Wilson paced the American Hockey League with 22 goals prior to his latest recall.  The diminutive Sheary was among the AHL leaders in points and assists. And Kuhnhackl had a 39-goal season in junior.

That they haven’t capitalized on a consistent basis shouldn’t come as a shock. Young players often take time to develop at the big-league level. Still, a goal now and then wouldn’t hurt.

“That’s something that we’ve got to do a little more of moving forward,” Rust noted following last night’s 2-1 shootout loss to Florida. “Especially if we want to take more points.”

For now, Sullivan and Pens GM Jim Rutherford are showing patience. But if the kids don’t start producing? Look for JR to add some punch at the trade deadline.

Scuderi Waived

The Chicago Blackhawks placed veteran defenseman Rob Scuderi on waivers today. If the former Penguins stalwart isn’t claimed by another NHL club, the Hawks have up to 30 days (or 10 games) to assign him to Rockford of the AHL.

Scuderi, 37, struggled to catch on in the Windy City after arriving on December 14 in a trade for Trevor Daley. In 17 games with the Hawks, the Long Island native recorded 10 blocked shots and seven hits while averaging a shade over 11 minutes of ice time per game. He was a minus-6.

Prior to the trade, “Scuds” registered four assists (and a plus-4) in 25 games with the Pens.