There are no excuses for the Penguins tonight. They are off to a bad start and there’s not a single person in the locker room who would dispute the claim. They need a victory in the worst way. Their upcoming schedule is about as easy as it gets in the league. They need to start taking points in consecutive games. They have a great opportunity against the Anaheim Ducks this evening at home.
As of now don’t look for any changes to the lineup . They are running it back against the Ducks
Reilly Smith did slot in for Bryan Rust on the top power-play unit.
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) October 30, 2023
The lone change appears to be Reilly Smith on the power play. He is left handed and this will leave Erik Karlsson as the only right handed player on the power play at the moment. I’m interested to see what they plan on running given such a discrepancy. Smith is a clever player and can shoot so it isn’t like he isn’t capable of such a role. I’ve never been a fan of Crosby playing on the left point on the power play so I’m hoping this move doesn’t lead to that. Sid needs to be down low and by the net.
The fourth line needs a makeover at this point. Mike Sullivan needs to do the right thing and bench Jeff Carter. Then we need to see if Noel Acciari and Matt Nieto have a Jeff Carter problem or if they just need to pick it up. We can’t find those answers if the coach won’t make any changes. As is, this line has been completely useless.
I have some good news and bad news to pass along. I will lead with the good news. The Penguins are playing well and their record isn’t as bad as their performance
Being first here is objectively a great place to be. You don’t get here on accident. The top six has played solid hockey at 5v5 as far as generating chances. If you’re looking for some hope early on in the season this is where you’ll find it.
The bad news, as you already know, they aren’t actually scoring goals even if they are playing pretty good in this area.
You just can’t be on the right side of this chart as a top heavy hockey team. The fourth line hasn’t scored a single goal and the third iline only has two. This is why being top heavy is a tall ask. Even if the players are playing well it doesn’t always translate to tangible success in this sport. If the Penguins stay near the top of the xGF per 60 their luck will eventually change and they will get some goals. How many points will be lost until then?
Kyle Dubas' insistence on acquiring forwards with little to no offensive profile is playing out in a way that was entirely possible. Make no mistake, Dubas had a ton of things to fix due to Hextall's . It was always going to be close to impossible to fix in one offseason. However, I also think the kinds of players he has targeted for depth roles left the team exposed in a way we are seeing play out in real time. I don't value defense only forwards like some people do and I certainly don't want an entire bottom six littered with them. Especially when these players are making more than the league minimum. The top six has to play lights out in order for everything to function in this setup. Well, they have to play lights out *and* get tangible results. Something not guaranteed in hockey.
This is a week and next are not games they can afford to drop points because half the roster can't contribute. They don't have the luxury of more missteps this early in the year. The coach and GM have to come together and figure something out.
Thanks for reading!