VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- There's been a pretty glaring trend though the first two weeks of the Penguins' season.
Sidney Crosby has been taking noticeably fewer faceoffs.
We're seeing Evgeni Malkin take draws more on the power plays, and we were even seeing Jake Guentzel step in for some faceoffs at 5-on-5 prior to his injury. Crosby has taken more faceoffs than anyone else on the team, averaging 16.7 per game. That's down from last season when he averaged 21, and the year before that when he averaged 22.9.
I spoke one-on-one with Crosby after the Penguins' practice at Rogers Arena on Thursday and asked if there was a reason he hasn't been taking as many draws.
"Yeah, I've just been taking less," he said. "Hopefully I can start taking more here. It's just kind of the way it is."
I pressed a little more and asked if it had anything at all to do with an issue with his wrist, and Crosby gave a firm, "No, nothing to do with the wrist."
I asked if it was a matter of just looking to give the team more new and different looks off of draws -- opponents have a wealth of film and scouting on the Penguins' power play when it's Crosby taking a faceoff, but not quite as much when it's someone else taking the draw.
"Yeah, that's part of it," Crosby told me. "Obviously, on the power plays, Geno can take faceoffs, and they can give different looks that way. But I do like taking them, so hopefully I can get back to taking a few more."
MORE PENGUINS
2. Sam Poulin's parents, Annick and Patrick, as well as his brother, sister and sister's baby made it to Calgary sometime during Tuesday's game for Poulin's NHL debut. They were waiting downstairs for Poulin after the game. Before meeting with reporters, Mike Sullivan took some time to go meet with Poulin's family and shake their hands and share what seemed like some encouraging words. It was nice to see. -- Haase
3. Crosby's father, Troy, is following the Penguins around on this Western road trip. He doesn't travel with the team, he has to fly commercial from city-to-city like anyone else would. He sits in the stands and watches the practices like any other hockey dad. -- Haase
4. There was some speculation from some other members of the media that P.O Joseph would be scratched in Edmonton, and that didn't happen. The speculation came from the fact that Joseph stayed out on the ice for a long time -- longer than extra defenseman Chad Ruhwedel -- when a handful of players skated that morning prior to the game. Typically, if a player stays out on the ice longer for some extra work, it's because he knows that's the only ice he's going to see that day. Joseph is just different, though. He's frequently the first skater on the ice for practices and morning skates and often one of the last ones on the ice. I remember during his rookie season times where the Zamboni drivers or members of the equipment staff would have to ask Joseph to get off the ice long after practice ended, and Joseph would plead with them for a few more minutes so he could keep working. He just has a great work ethic. -- Haase
5. The team's hotel in Edmonton is close enough to the arena that they walk to and from practices, which leads to some fans congregating outside waiting to meet players. Not all of the players stop for the fans on the way back to the hotel, or they might only stop for a few. Jeff Carter stopped to take pictures and sign autographs for everyone waiting outside after the Penguins' practice in Edmonton, even though it added quite a bit of time to his walk back to the hotel. Just cool to see a guy like Carter who has been around as long as he has to still take the time out of his day to do that. -- Haase
6. There was a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton product on the Oilers for the Penguins' matchup in Edmonton: Not a player or a coach, but rather the mascot, Hunter the lynx. The man inside the suit is Chad Spencer, who served as Wilkes-Barre's Tux mascot from 2006-17 before getting the Oilers job. When Spencer was in Wilkes-Barre he spent years trying to move up to a major-league team, with one of the motivations being able to make enough money in order to afford to more often see his son, who lived in Alberta with his mother. Spencer got turned down by the Pirates, Lightning, and Flames among others before finally landing the job as the Oilers' first mascot, a dream job and one that allowed him to be close to his son. That's a pretty feel-good story. -- Haase
7. The decision to put Kasperi Kapanen on the penalty-kill seems to be paying off so far. Among all Penguins forwards who have killed penalties this season, Kapanen has been on the ice for the lowest rate of shot attempts against and quality chances against. The interesting part, though, is that he hasn’t made much of an impact yet in regard to creating shorthanded chances, as the Penguins have yet to fire an unblocked shot attempt during his PK ice-time. I’m inclined to believe that will change in a hurry, but it’s definitely possible he’s just that focused on his defensive work. -- Danny Shirey at PPG Paints Arena
8. There are sure to be growing pains with Sam Poulin’s game as he adjusts to the NHL — it’s only his second pro season, after all — but him finding some consistency as the Penguins’ third-line center could have a massive impact on this team. Jeff Carter does have six points through seven games, but his ability to drive play is a serious and increasing concern, especially in the defensive zone. A permanent role on the wing could allow Carter to leverage some of the qualities that still bring him success while giving the Penguins more flexibility with line combinations. -- Shirey
9. The team's 2022 first-round pick, defenseman Owen Pickering, is off to a fast start with eight points in six games to begin his junior season after missing all of Penguins rookie camp and most of training camp. The early production makes him one of the WHL’s highest-scoring defensemen on a per game basis. Pickering has been out-scored quite a bit when he’s out on the ice, but that likely has more to do with the team around him (the Swift Current Broncos are 3-7-0 out of the gates) than it does with his individual performance. The 6-foot-4 (and still growing) defenseman will turn 19 in January. -- Shirey
STEELERS
10. Early on in training camp and the preseason, it seemed as if tight end seams were going to be a big part of the Steelers' offense this season. Through seven games, they've come few and very far between. Or, at least, it seemed that way. I asked Pat Freiermuth if I was wrong in the lack of seam routes. "No. I mean, we're running them, but I think teams are starting to see me being utilized down the seam a lot more," Freiermuth told me. "They're just pulling the safety, especially in certain situations, such as inside two minutes because it's harder when their defense changes because they want to keep everything in front of them. They are playing safeties that are poaching me, so it's harder to get those." -- Chris Halicke on the South Side
11. Specifically sticking with the loss in Miami, the Dolphins ran a single-high safety most of the time against the Steelers defense. I'm told the reason is because the Dolphins trust their cornerbacks in their assignments outside. That, of course, takes away the middle of the field at the snap of the ball, which explains the lack of targets to Freiermuth early on. -- Halicke
Many of you may not like to hear this. But, that backs up Matt Canada's point from his media availability Thursday when he lamented the missed opportunities to Diontae Johnson on a deep ball down the sideline on the third play of the game and the interception two offensive plays later when Chase Claypool was tripped up on a ball down the field. "There's ways to can attack (one-high safety)," Freiermuth explained to me, one day prior to Canada's comments. "I think with our game plan, we attacked it. But, there were certain plays where, especially early on in the game, we had those things dialed up. When you have those dialed up once and you don't get it, it's not going to come twice. Especially in the NFL, because they're going to see it. When we have those dialed up early, we have to capitalize on that." -- Halicke
12. Even with all of that, the throw made by Kenny Pickett to Freiermuth on fourth down late in the game was a play the Steelers worked on all week. The coaches harped on Freiermuth that he needed to be able to beat Eric Rowe when the coverage opened up for him, and it worked out on a critical play that kept the Steelers alive. But, Freiermuth gave a lot of credit to Pickett for the execution on the play. "That was a hell of a throw," Freiermuth told me. "High-level throw." -- Halicke
13. Damontae Kazee’s five-game suspension was served due to his DWI from last October. While he was a member of the Cowboys, Kazee was pulled over on suspicion that he was driving while intoxicated. According to police, Kazee failed a field sobriety test and admitted to consuming alcohol during the night. He was booked with a Class B misdemeanor.
While Kazee injured his wrist during the Steelers' final preseason game, working his way back from the injury while on injured reserve wasn't the hard part for him during his journey to rejoining the team. "My main focus was getting my suspension over, and getting the court stuff over with," Kazee told me. "I got all the hard stuff done. I’m stress free now. Nothing on my shoulders. Can’t hold me back. I’m been thinking about the same stuff since last year. Now, I’m just happy, man. I can’t even explain how happy I am." -- Halicke
14. As far as Kazee's way back into the fold on the football field, he was been cleared by the team doctor Wednesday. However, he has yet to work with the defense in practice. He's been limited to scout team duties since his 21-day window to return began. "It's not up to me now," Kazee told me. "Just play my role. Just keep my head down and keep doing what I need to do." -- Halicke
15. Steven Sims hurt his hamstring during his 89-yard kick return, which by far has been the largest splash play created on special teams (outside of Minkah Fitzpatrick's blocked PAT in Cincinnati). Sims told me he felt something, but didn't quite know what it was at first. He decided to use the heating pad on it for the rest of the game, but it flared up once the adrenaline wore off. "I woke up the next day, and it was pretty sore," Sims told me. "It felt like I was sitting on something, so that's when I went in and got it looked at." -- Halicke
16. It sounds like -- literally -- the music in the Steelers' locker room is here to stay. Sure, it makes the media's job much more difficult as we try to record audio and video for the fans. But, they're certainly not the first locker room or clubhouse in sports to play music. Just going to roll with the punches. We've been given red paint, so the media's going to paint the barn red. -- Halicke
PIRATES
17. PNC Park has undergone several upgrades and renovations the past few years, and the big one is finally underway: Replacing the scoreboard. It was the first thing that was brought up when these renovations were being planned, but it was deemed as too big an endeavor that had to go through the city's sports and exhibition authority. But after 2022, it became clear a new scoreboard was not a potential luxury but a necessity because the operating system was outdated and it would periodically glitch. So the stadium is getting another facelift in 2023 at the cost of a $1 ticket increase. It doesn't sound like it will be the last upgrade left for the ballpark, either. -- Alex Stumpf
18. Ok, it's the Fall League, but Henry Davis is a perfect 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts so far. Coming out of the draft I heard that was a bit of an underrated part of his game, and he did swipe 9 bags on 11 tries in the minors this year. That's a bonus for a catcher. -- Stumpf
19. One former Pirate catcher who did rack up steals was Jason Kendall, who did some advisory work with the Pirates this year. Also like Kendall, Davis got plunked by plenty of pitches there. Kendall gave him some pointers on how to wear a hit by pitch, including how to turn the body to protect the hands and wrist more. There will definitely be plenty of eyes on that left wrist moving forward. -- Stumpf
20. And in case you needed a reminder that Davis is a catcher moving forward, he's only appeared as a backstop in the Fall League. Could he bounce around at other positions like what we saw at the end of the minor-league season this year? Sure, especially with Endy Rodriguez in the fold, but the main priority is for him to catch. -- Stumpf
21. To close with a Rodriguez note, his winter ball hitting coach is also a former Pirates catcher: Ronny Paulino. The 2020s catchers and the 2000s catchers keep finding each other. -- Stumpf
