In less than three weeks, the Penguins and Canadiens will face off in Game 1 of their qualifying round series in Toronto.
How do the two teams stack up against each other? We'll take a look at both teams' rosters, position-by-position. We start today with a look at the forwards:
PENGUINS
Lines from Day 1 in camp:
Jake Guentzel –- Sidney Crosby –- Conor Sheary
Jason Zucker –- Evgeni Malkin –- Bryan Rust
Patrick Marleau –- Jared McCann –- (Patric Hornqvist*)
Zach Aston-Reese -- Teddy Blueger -- Brandon Tanev
*Hornqvist was absent from the first practice, with Lafferty and Rodrigues rotating in the spot that would be Hornqvist's.
Depth forwards:
Evan Rodrigues, Sam Lafferty, Anthony Angello, Adam Johnson, Samuel Poulin, Sam Miletic, Philip Varone
Big questions:
Several positions in the lineup are all but set. We know Crosby will likely be with Guentzel on the top line, we know that Malkin will likely be with Rust on the second line, we know that McCann and Hornqvist will likely play together on the third line, and we know that the Aston-Reese-Blueger-Tanev line will likely stick together.
What's still somewhat up in the air is where the midseason acquisitions of Sheary, Zucker, and Marleau fit. Zucker and Sheary both played on the top line with Crosby before the shutdown, and Sheary has experience playing with Guentzel and Crosby in a championship run. Zucker was a great fit on Crosby's line in the regular season, and it's tough to see Sheary fitting in on the second or the third line if he doesn't play on that top line.
Aside from the combinations, the next two biggest questions I have are how two players fare after extended time off. Guentzel, of course, hasn't played since December and could need some time to readjust to receiving contact. Marleau, being 40 years old, could potentially benefit from the long layoff, but also may need more time getting back up to speed.
CANADIENS
Lines from Day 1 of camp:
Tomas Tatar — Phillip Danault — Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin — Nick Suzuki — Joel Armia
Artturi Lehkonen — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Paul Byron
Jordan Weal — Jake Evans — Dale Weise
Depth forwards:
Charles Hudon, Ryan Poehling, Laurent Dauphin, Alex Belzile
Big questions:
The Canadiens' line combinations are very much still up in the air with Max Domi having another week to decide whether to report to camp. If Domi does show, it's not clear where he fits. During much of the season, the Canadiens' top three centers were Danault, Suzuki, and Domi. Adding Kotkaniemi into the mix changes things.
Kotkaniemi, the Canadiens' No. 3 overall pick in 2018, had a successful rookie season in 2018-19 with 11 goals, 23 assists in 79 games. He struggled early on this season, and missed time in the fall to recover from a nagging groin injury. Shortly after returning from his from his groin injury, Kotkaniemi suffered a concussion that kept him out of the lineup for nearly all of December. When he returned, he had a stint in the AHL to regain his confidence. He was back up in Montreal near the end of the season before he suffered a spleen injury that was thought to be season-ending. Like Guentzel, the time off from the shutdown is giving him a chance to play again this season.
It's not a given that Kotkaniemi earns a spot in the Canadiens' lineup. And If Domi does rejoin the Canadiens, he may have to be shifted to wing if Kotkaniemi does play.
MATCHUP
No real debate here. As long as the Penguins have Crosby and Malkin on the team, the forward group is going to have an edge over most other forward groups around the league.
The Canadiens just don't have a real standout scorer on the team. Not a single player on the team averaged over a point per game during the regular season -- Tatar led with .90 points per game. Meanwhile, the Penguins had four forwards -- Malkin, Crosby, Guentzel, Rust -- average over a point per game.
If there's an area where the Canadiens forward group outperformed the Penguins this year, it would be in the faceoff circle. The Canadiens were slightly above average in their faceoff win percentage, winning 50.4 percent of draws this season. The Penguins were the seventh-worst in faceoff win percentage this season, winning 48.9 percent of draws.
