NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It was about midway through the first period Tuesday night in Raleigh that Mike Sullivan started to move his chess pieces around.
With his team locked in a scoreless draw with the Hurricanes and not liking what he was watching, Sullivan promoted Bryan Rust to the top line and bumped Jared McCann down to the second. Given the Penguins’ scoring troubles of late, it was not entirely unexpected. The moved produced the desired results, too, as the line of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Rust produced both of the Penguins’ goals in their 3-2 overtime loss at PNC Arena.
Tellingly, though, what Sullivan didn’t do was shift Blueger from center to the wing or even further down the lineup. Sullivan could have used McCann or Nick Bjugstad, two veterans who can play either position. In part, the move was made out of design to keep the lines as stable as possible.
Before his injury last month, Rust had been playing with Crosby and Guentzel while the third line of Dominik Simon, Patric Hornqvist and Bjugstad seems to have found some chemistry, although not the back of the net as much as they or the Penguins would like. Tuesday’s loss was the third straight game that the Penguins have scored two goals or less.
During this stretch, Blueger has had the unenviable task of trying to replace Evgeni Malkin, who will miss his third straight game tonight against the Predators with an apparent rib injury that could keep him out of the line another “week or two.” Meanwhile, Blueger also serves as the defensive conscience on the second line as Phil Kessel -- zero even-strength goals since Jan. 30 -- tries to rediscover his game. That kind of workload should tell you plenty about what Sullivan and the organization thinks of the 24-year-old.
“I try not to think of it that way,” Blueger was saying Tuesday. “I go into each game and focus on playing your best and doing your best and helping the team win. Obviously, we hope (Malkin) will be back soon.”
Obviously, you just can't replace Malkin, a former two-time scoring champ that. Despite his struggles this season, Malkin is still the Penguins’ third-leading scorer with 71 points and is still producing at a 1.08 points per game clip. No, Blueger can’t keep up with that pace and he isn’t trying to.
“I just try to play my game,” Blueger was telling me. “I play the same way that got me here in the first place. I can’t change something and be something that I’m not. Just try and be as consistent as I can be.”
After playing mainly in the bottom six since he was originally recalled at the end of January, Blueger became Malkin and Kessel's left winger on the second line after Zach Aston-Reese went out of the lineup with an upper-body injury on March 10. For a player with little experience, that was an interesting experience.
"I mean, it was obviously pretty exciting with him and Geno," Blueger was saying. Yeah, it’s just been a lot of fun. Those guys are so creative and so smart. The passes they make are so unorthodox, you could say. Just try to give them the puck and open some room up for them as much as I can."
Now with Malkin out, he’s back at his natural center position and is making the most of it.
“Teddy’s confidence grows with each game,” Rust was saying. “You see him out there making plays and working hard and making plays on both ends of the rink. His game is just getting better.”
After recording three goals and an assist in his first seven games, and fighting the Lightning's Adam Erne, it seemed Blueger could do no wrong. However, he soon found himself out of the lineup and, at the Feb. 25 trade deadline, Jim Rutherford made the hard decision to send him back to Wilkes-Barre to keep him playing in the minors. However, he was recalled just two days later on an emergency basis after Rust went out and has been in the lineup since.
Not only that, he’s been handling an increased role. Tuesday was the fourth time in the last six games that he’s played at least 15 minutes. Against the Hurricanes, Blueger had a 59.26 Corsi For percentage while adding two hits and a block. In Sunday’s loss to the Flyers, Blueger contributed the Penguins’ lone goal, his fourth of the season and first since Feb. 13.
He says that goal, on a rebound of a Kessel shot, has given him a little more confidence offensively. Blueger would be wise to shoot more too. In a relatively small sample size, his 16.7 shooting percentage is the third-highest on the Penguins behind only Guentzel (18.7) and McCann (17.6).
“For sure, I think I’ve been getting better and, obviously, it’s helps when you can contribute and score and get on the scoresheet,” he says. “That always helps just mentally, feel a little lighter.”
Blueger isn’t going to make anyone forget about Malkin offensively, but you have to be impressed with how the youngster has attacked the job and played his game. In some ways, he reminds of a more blue-collar Guentzel. Like the Penguins’ leading goal-scorer, Blueger isn’t the biggest guy but he is fearless and gets to the dirty areas on the ice.
After returning to center, Blueger has also shown an uncanny ability in the face-off circle. After winning just 1-of-4 in NHL debut against the Lightning on Jan. 30, Blueger is now at 54.1 percent after winning 80 percent against the Flyers and 57.1 against the Hurricanes.
“Once I got a couple of them under my belt against Philly, I felt pretty good,” Blueger was saying.
Furthermore, Blueger has been a regular on the PK, averaging 1:23 short-short-handed per game.
Still not sure if he’s best suited for the top-six, but by playing a strong, two-way game, Blueger is going to play in the NHL for a long time and should be one of the team’s building blocks for the future.
