It has been a while but the Pittsburgh Penguins are finally back in game action tonight at home against the Montreal Canadiens. The two teams previously battled back on October 13th. Montreal won the game 3-2 and it left the Penguins in an 0-3 hole to start the year. Since then the sky has not fallen and Pittsburgh has gone 9-2.
Beau Bennett was one of the goal scorers in that October 13th matchup and he will have a really good opportunity to score another goal against Montreal tonight. The reason is that he has been promoted to the right wing position on the Sidney Crosby line. Multiple lower body injuries in 2014-15 prevented Bennett from being able to keep up last year on the skating front. This year Bennett's stride looks stronger and his skating appears quicker. Combine the better skating with his hockey IQ and skilled hands and there is the possibility of finding a good top six winger making under a million dollars.
Barring injury there is no reason that the Penguins shouldn't give Bennett at least a five game look on Crosby's right wing. Bennett was drafted to be a skilled winger that can contribute offensively and now that he is healthy it is time to find out if he can fill that role.
Many people think Patric Hornqvist is a good fit for Sidney Crosby but I don't see it that way. Hornqvist dumps and chases the puck way to frequently and it results in the Crosby line chasing the puck a lot more than they should. If Bennett is able to keep up with Sid he will earn a lot more controlled zone exits and entries which will lead to tangible 5v5 offense. The more frequent Sidney Crosby has the puck on his stick the better chance there is of offense being generated. This isn't ground breaking analysis but Crosby's line and Crosby specifically don't have the puck enough.
If Bennett finds legitimate success on the top line that opens up legitimate roster options that may have otherwise not been considered.
Dupuis on Bennett: "Really high hockey IQ. Beau's a guy with great skill ... It'll be good to have him on the right with us." #Pens
— Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) November 11, 2015
Daniel Sprong will be on the left wing with Matt Cullen and Eric Fehr. Playing "fourth line minutes" with those two certainly isn't going to hurt Sprong's development. I like how the team is giving him reps on the left side because if you look at the big picture that is where the top six opening is going to be this year. David Perron is playing better, but I don't have a lot of confidence in Kunitz or Dupuis to be the long term placeholders in that top six LW spot. See if Sprong can handle that side and as the year goes on keep increasing his role little by little. By the end of the year you may have something there. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
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