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Penguins make some much needed changes to lines |
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As the Penguins head into their last game in Canada on their western swing they appear to be making some needed changes to their lineup
The first line is fine as constructed if you were in a vacuum (or perhaps even if you weren’t). Evan Rodrigues is playing great this season and he is looking to make plays and not just play a bit part. Give him his time to shine while the roster is still missing Malkin. He is pushing 70% in xGF% on the season. You have nothing to lose there.
That said, I would also be willing to listen to an argument with Evan Rodrigues playing center/wing on another line.
The line of Zucker-Carter-Kapanen just hasn’t worked. In their 123 minutes together, they have put together a 45.70 CF% and a 43.81 xGF%. The Penguins aren’t scoring goals at the moment and if you have a top six line laying a dud like this you can’t keep running them out there and Mike Sullivan is not. Personally, I would entertain the idea of placing Kasperi Kapanen on the Crosby line to try and utilize his goal scoring, but it probably isn’t Sid’s favorite idea if you took anything away from his interview with TNT the other night. He said he loves playing in tight spaces and creating from those areas and not so much in the open ice. Kapanen is an open ice player. Even so I would try to get a sample of them together because Sid isn't the coach and sometimes, he can deal with something other than his preferences.
You could try a scoring line of Heinen-Carter-Rodrigues if this were the case. I think ramping up Heinen’s ice time wouldn’t be a terrible idea and Jeff Carter clearly needs some different wingers. He’s had a rough year going 45.81 in xGF%. I think things will improve for him after Malkin returns. As for Heinen the increased ice time would be grooming him for a top six role with Evgeni Malkin. I think I would try a Heinen-Malkin-Rust line when everybody is healthy. While I would like to see this line the fallout from trying this line is either Kapanen or Rodrigues has to play with Crosby. Since it doesn’t seem like Kapanen will be used it leaves Kapanen back with Zucker and Carter right back where we started. If you wanted to get weird and avoid this situation perhaps Jeff Carter moving to Crosby or Malkin’s wing opens up some other options involving Rodrigues centering a third line. I’m basically just thinking out loud at this point.
Another nice change in the lineup is Sam Lafferty not being a part of it. This should be permanent. He brings nothing to the table and never will. O’Connor might not be the answer, but he is 23 years old and after being sent to the AHL he has been a point per game player in five games which is what you want to see after a demotion. I’d rather give him a look than someone who is dead on arrival.
As for the Canucks here is what they look like compared to the rest of the league
It appears year eight of Jim Benning’s five-year plan isn’t going as planned. The Canucks are up there among the worst run teams in the league. They desperately need a new voice at the top.
It will be the third Saturday in a row for the Penguins being on Hockey Night In Canada. This time they’ll get the late slot and after hours.
Thanks for reading!
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