The Penguins were blown out by a Bruins team that didn't even have Patrice Bergeron in the lineup. It was a catastrophe. The score of 8-4 was indicative of the on-ice play
Not even score effects could help save the Penguins. They sucked.
They are on a three game losing streak for the first time since the dark days of December. They didn't look great against the Devils. They were sloppy against Florida. They haven't been playing their best hockey. They haven't been coached to the best of their ability either. We still haven't seen the Penguins best lineup and it is hurting the team right now. The league as a whole is getting faster and the Devils were a good example of that on Tuesday night. New Jersey was motivated and skated with a purpose all night long. Pittsburgh has the ability to do that as well, but it becomes a lot more difficult when you shelter your fourth line with minimal minutes. Pittsburgh can outskate or at least be on par with anybody in the league, if they roll their four best lines. Right now they aren't. Zach Aston-Reese's injury puts a damper on their depth a little bit, but they still have options.
Matt Hunwick shouldn't play. He stinks. Chad Ruhwedel is a better option at this point even if his sample this year is totally limited. He showed more last year than Hunwick has this year. At least try it. Tom Kuhnhackl and Carter Rowney serve no purpose and that's evident by their usage. Their penalty killing "abilities" don't come close to justifying the hit the team takes by not having a functional fourth line.
This is not an overreaction to one game. We have a plenty good enough sample over the past two years to evaluate this player. What last night sums up is the willingness of the team to keep banging their head against the wall and expecting different results. Daniel Sprong is in the AHL because he's not a complete player. Those are the words of the GM. Those words should apply to everyone, but they don't. They should, but they don't. A fourth line of Simon-Sheahan-Sprong is an option for the team. Unless of course you still subscribe to the dated philosophy that certain players "aren't fourth line players". That mindset is junk. Play your 12 best players. There is no rule that says your fourth line has to consist of a certain kind of player because that would be stupid. It's also stupid to hold true to dated roles.
If you're looking to replace Tom Kuhnhackl or Carter Rowney's ineffective PK minutes you don't have to look hard. Use Conor Sheary. Here's a guy who is struggling right now, but could use a sense of worth. His speed and tenacity is exactly the kind of skill set that would fit nicely on a penalty kill. It's why Carl Hagelin does such a nice job on it. The team needs Conor Sheary to play better. They aren't a better team without him in the lineup. He is definitely underperforming in his first year with his new contract and right now he is in the lowest part of the valley in a year with not many peaks. He also suffers from the same kinds of criticism that Letang does. His mistakes are easily memorable. The flubs are obvious. You remember them. The pro side to remembering his mistakes is that they are remembered because a lot times they happen in areas of the ice that are dangerous. It makes it more frustrating, you feel like a scoring chance was wasted and it was. The other side is that the puck is getting to those areas and much like Hornqvist it's a volume thing. The key is that he continues to get the puck in those areas. His hands will never be confused with Alex Kovalev, but they are functional in the same way Dupuis' were. His hands will betray him less often when he's out of his own head. Giving him some PK minutes (that couldn't possibly be worse than 34/37) is a nice way to get him to focus on some other things.
Placing him on a different line is probably a good idea too, and not the fourth.
He continues:
Sid and Sheary play a sort of relentless game. Phil’s lines have more of a finesse-like flow to them with a lot of ragging the puck, circling the net, waiting for an open man and creating space.
The lines weren't different at practice today, but here's something to think about moving forward taking Vinnie's analysis into consideration
Guentzel-Crosby-Sheary
Rust-Malkin-Hornqvist
Hagelin-Brassard-Kessel (HBK yo)
Simon-Sheahan-Sprong
And you still have ZAR when he's healthy again.
We know the first line has had success in the past. I don't love Rust on his off wing, but I like him even less with Sid. The third line is HBK reincarnated, but with the way better version of Bonino. Say what you want about that fourth line but its light years ahead of whatever they're doing now. You can play around with that lineup some more and still find some other decent combos,, but those are the best 12 forwards in the organization right now.
There are x and o things to address, but when you aren't icing your best lineup I find that secondary.
The team will get a chance to figure things out on Saturday night when they take on the New York Islanders.
Thanks for reading!
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