Kovacevic: Sullivan turns to old faithful

Nov 1, 2017 • 12:00 am

EDMONTON, Alberta -- Tom Kuhnhackl as a top-six forward makes a ton of sense, assuming we're talking about the Kuhnhackl who once upon a time was a point-a-game stud for the Landshut Cannibals in the German junior ranks.

In the NHL, though, the concept pretty much cannibalizes itself.

So what, pray tell, could Mike Sullivan have been thinking when he bumped Kuhnhackl and all zero of his goals onto the Penguins' second line alongside Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust, for Tuesday's practice at the Edmonton Community Arena?

The answer is simple: He wants to keep it simple.

This was as close as Sullivan came Tuesday to explaining his general concern about his forwards' loose, spread-out play of late: "Our overall even-strength game has to improve. We have to get better, we have to get more difficult to play against and we have to become a team that doesn't beat itself."

But I'll take it further, based on a talk Sullivan and I had late last season about his preferred solution anytime his team goes totally out of whack. He -- and at the time, Rick Tocchet -- would identify three or four players they considered to be "grit guys," per their term, and they'd assign one to each of the four lines. The fits weren't all that important. Just that there was at least one player always on the ice who'd "play the game the right way," per another of their terms.

Thus, Kuhnhackl's up with Malkin and Rust, both of whom have been basically spinning their wheels in the attacking zone of late.

Thus, Patric Hornqvist's back on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Conor Sheary.

And that move is actually a whole lot more relevant, based on that same conversation from last season: Sullivan views Hornqvist as "an elite player" in the context of what Hornqvist does. And he absolutely loves having Hornqvist and Crosby together, even if Crosby's own general preference is to have similar linemates who cycle and possess the way that he, Sheary and Jake Guentzel have done brilliantly when at their best. Trouble is, Guentzel's got one goal in his past eight games, and Crosby himself has a single point, an assist, in his past five.

That's the genesis of these line changes. Not Kuhnhackl or anyone else.

Sullivan has correctly identified the Penguins' malaise as being rooted in their abysmal five-on-five play -- which isn't exactly difficult, given that they're dead last in the NHL at minus-21 with 17 goals scored, 38 allowed -- and he's further correctly identified that the cause is a lack of consistent pressure on the puck in the attacking zone. They're missing that pack mentality in pursuit and, even when they do have possession, they're achieving nothing because no one's cutting below the hash marks to make something meaningful happen.

That hardly makes this plan foolproof, but it's worked before. And once it does, and everyone's back to doing things more intelligently, all the forwards can go back to the lines where they belong.

• Just to avoid being a total downer, I feel it's fair to add that I've really liked Sheary's game of late. His wheels have stayed under him, he's been smart and sharp on the attack, and he's been the Penguins' best forward by far in tracking back and creating turnovers. All would do well to model their game after his right now.

• Go ahead and lose the game, but get back to playing it right. The process matters more than the result right now.

WHAT'S BREWING?

• Katie Brown has the Midweek Reader, and it's a look at Guentzel's childhood, culled partly from our stop in St. Paul earlier this week. Hope you enjoy.

• Rob Ullman's Cartoon Canon is a football gem.

• The Steelers' practice today is their last until next Monday, but our football coverage team has been building up a backlog of material to keep new material coming fairly regularly, while also aiming to get Dale Lolley a deserved breather.

DK SPORTS RADIO

Here's the livestream, and here are our daily podcasts: