Earlier this month, I published an article titled, Penguins Five-Deep Depth Chart, listing our top five players at each position. I thought I’d expand on that a bit and delve into how I think new coach Dan Muse will deploy the troops at his disposal.
Purely subjective, of course. With the proviso this could all be blown to smithereens if Kyle Dubas swings a trade or two, especially involving our top players.
First Line: Sidney Crosby (c), Rickard Rakell (lw), Ville Koivunen (rw)
This combination has lethality written all over it. Even at age 38, Crosby is still Crosby, an extraordinary and consummate talent, leader and player. Sid and Rakell go together like Forrest Gump and his beloved Jenny’s peas and carrots. A true nightmare matchup for any foe. Unawed and productive during a late season cameo, Koivunen’s no third wheel. On the contrary, the kid possesses the smarts, skill and drive to not only keep up with his gifted linemates, but help propel the unit to even greater heights.
Second Line: Evgeni Malkin (c), Rutger McGroarty (lw), Bryan Rust (rw)
Here’s where the craps-shoot begins. So much hinges on Geno and his ability to bounce back from his weakest season since defecting from Mother Russia all those years ago. Soon to be 39 and entering the twilight of a brilliant career, can he do it? There’s a lot of mileage (maybe too much) on those surgically repaired knees. To be fair, he didn’t receive much support from a revolving door of linemates last season, yet still managed 50 points in 68 games. Hopefully Rust and McGroarty, who plays a remarkably mature all-around game, will help rejuvenate the big guy.
Third Line: Tommy Novak (c), Anthony Mantha (lw), Philip Tomasino (rw)
Another wild-card combo. Comprised of three players known primarily for their offense (or at least offensive potential) the unit hardly fits the mold of a classic third line. On the plus side, according to reports, Novak and Tomasino enjoyed good chemistry during their previous stop in Nashville. As for physical, two-way play? Not so much. A lot depends on Mantha recovering from the torn ACL that required season-ending surgery while limiting him to 13 games with the Flames.
Fourth Line: Blake Lizotte (c), Connor Dewar (lw), Justin Brazeau (rw)
Unlike the third line, which has a boon or bust feel, the fourth line should be more of a sure bet, with some variance in personnel. I love what Lizotte and Dewar, both feisty and competitive, bring to the table. Brazeau didn’t exactly shine in a fourth-line role with the Wild, but he does bring beef and the promise of at least a hint of much-needed physicality.
With vets like Kevin Hayes, Danton Heinen and Noel Acciari waiting in the wings (Boko Imama, too), coach Muse will have plenty of options.
To sum up, the forwards could (and should) be the strength of the team. Sid’s line, in particular, projects to be deadly. However, so much depends on the middle-six and their ability to adapt and thrive in their respective roles.
Personally, I think Geno’s the key. His ability to turn back the clock and regain the player he was even two years ago could have a huge impact on the team’s performance.
Up Next: The Defense and Goaltending
Don’t forget about the Filip Hallandar wildcard.
Hey Rick,
You piqued my curiosity; I looked up Novak – Tomasino on Natural stat trick. They didn’t really play all that much together over the last 3 seasons (143:10 TOI). In that limited time together, they did make a lot of noise by averaging 64.53 shot attempts per 60 minutes but they traded almost every shot attempt for a shot attempt against; their CORSI was 51.68%. Worse than that even though they did convert for respectable 2.93 G/60, they were under water across the rest of the board giving up more unblocked shots than they took (47.62%), yielding more shots on goal (46.79%) and that all resulted in a serious minus in the GA department, 3.35 GA/60 for a GF% of 46.67%. If history does repeat itself and Muse deploys these 2 clods together, it will be another nightmare season for Penguins Goalies. And if that is the case, first I hope it is done intentionally to tank – I would hope Muse isn’t a blind of a coach as Sullivan’s ego let him be and second I hope they sacrifice Jarry and Silovs to that pathetic combo. I wouldn’t want to ruin Blomqvist and Murashov.
Rick
I’m not overly confident in Malkin’s play, but maybe, with this likely being his last run, he’ll leave
everything out on the ice. His line raises a few concerns for me—mainly that both he and Rust are
injury-prone and now another year older. I like the 1st and 3rd lines, even though Novak is a huge
question mark for me, and can he stay healthy? As for the 4th line I’m hoping that Muse finds
away against some of our more physical opponents to play both Imana, and Brazeau together.
*Initial look at our PP units as the roster stands:
PP1: Crosby – Rakell – Koivunen – Malkin – Karlsson
PP2: Rust – McGroarty – Mantha – Tomasino – Letang
If Karlsson, Rakell, and Rust are traded (or even just one or two of them), it would have a
major impact on both of our power-play units.