Ron Hextall joked following last month's trade deadline that wasn't his problem when it came to where newly-acquired forward Rickard Rakell would fit into the Penguins' line combinations.
"I'll leave that one to (Mike Sullivan)," Hextall said with a laugh. "I said, 'That's your problem now.' "
After a couple of games on Jeff Carter's wing in a smaller role during the process of getting acclimated, Rakell was moved into the spot in the Penguins' top six that seemed the most logical: On the second line, on Evgeni Malkin's wing.
Rakell's been on Malkin's wing for seven games now, including Sunday's 3-2 overtime win over the Predators at PPG Paints Arena.
But it was in Sunday's game that we first saw a quick glimpse of how Rakell might fit with another center in Sidney Crosby.
Though Rakell and Crosby didn't play on a line together, they were caught out on the ice together between line changes several times, and connected on both of the Penguins' goals in regulation, as well as Crosby's overtime winner.
It's a small sample size, but it looks like a Crosby-Rakell pairing might be one that could bring the Penguins some success. And it's something that the coaching staff has already discussed trying.
Crosby and Rakell saw just 2:07 of ice time in the win, and all three of the Penguins' goals were scored within that span.
The first goal came less than five minutes into the game.
As Predators goaltender David Rittich went to play the puck behind Nashville's net, Rakell added pressure and caused Rittich to misplay the puck, turning it over to Kris Letang. Letang sent the puck right over to Rakell, who dangled around Matt Benning and found Crosby just as Crosby came off the bench and into the Predators end:
With the Penguins trailing by a goal in the third period, Crosby and Rakell teamed up to set up Jason Zucker's game-tying goal.
Rakell carried the puck into the Predators' end and dropped the puck back between his legs to Crosby. Crosby passed the puck to Zucker in the slot, and Zucker put it in with a backhand shot:
Just over two minutes into the extra frame, Rakell set up Crosby for the game-winner.
Mike Matheson carried the puck in toward the net but couldn't get a shot off. Mikael Granlund recovered the loose puck, and Crosby immediately easily stripped him of it. Crosby's intended pass to Matheson was blocked and popped out through the slot to Rakell. Rakell faked like he was going to shoot, but sent the puck back to Crosby, who then redirected it in:
Rakell said that he was "definitely" thinking about shooting the puck himself in overtime, and he's glad he didn't.
"It felt like (the Predators) were all coming out at me and I saw Sid on the back door," Rakell recalled. "So I just tried to get it to him. It was nice to see it go in. Otherwise, I'd probably regret that I didn't shoot it."
Crosby deferred much of the credit for his two goals to Rakell.
"He's a guy that's got a ton of skill, he sees the ice well," Crosby said. "I just tried to get in the holes there and he put it right onto my tape on both of them. I think those are all him just making great plays, heads-up plays and seeing the ice well. I just tried to capitalize."
If Rakell can play with Crosby, it gives the Penguins some more options as far as line combinations go moving forward. Malkin's played well with both Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust in the past. Rakell and Rust could potentially swap spots, or both wingers on either line could switch, with Zucker and Rakell moving up to play with Crosby and Guentzel and Rust getting some time with Malkin.
I asked Sullivan if a Crosby-Rakell combination might be something we see more of moving forward.
Sullivan said that when Hextall brought Rakell in, they felt that Rakell was someone who could play with either Crosby or Malkin, and moving Rakell up to Crosby's wing is something that they've already had discussions on.
"It's certainly an option, that's for sure," Sullivan said. "They connected on a couple of important goals tonight. I thought Rak made two great plays to Sid when Sid finished on them. Just great vision, great awareness, knowing where he is, and getting him the puck. We know he can score goals. It just provides evidence that potentially moving forward, that's an option for us."
There's less than three weeks in the regular season, so there's not much time left to tinker with line combinations. If the Penguins want to see what Rakell can provide on Crosby's wing, they best give him that opportunity sooner rather than later.
"Whether we go there or not, time will tell," Sullivan said. "But certainly it is something that we have discussed."
