The Penguins' first line hasn't looked great over the past several games.
Tuesday's game might have been the worst it's looked all season.
Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust combined for a minus-13 in the Penguins' 5-2 loss to the Maple Leafs at PPG Paints Arena, with the trio being on the ice for every Toronto goal scored. That line was the Penguins' only line to be on the ice for more shots on goal against than for in the loss, with the Penguins recording four shots on goal and allowing 11 while they were on the ice together.
"We had some chances," Crosby told me after the game. "On the defensive side, we obviously gave up a lot. It's pretty clear that it wasn't clicking."
Could changes be coming? Mike Sullivan didn't rule it out.
The Penguins trailed by two goals after the first period, with John Tavares and Mitch Marner scoring three minutes apart. Tavares' opening goal came because the Penguins just allowed him to have entirely too much time and space alone in the slot:
Toronto's next two goals came in the first and last minutes of the middle frame, both from Michael Bunting. Bunting's first came just 11 seconds into the second period off of a faceoff after the Penguins allowed a 2-on-1:
The top line was responsible for one of the Penguins' two goals in the game. Rasmus Sandin fanned on a pass and turned the puck over to Crosby, who finished with a classic-Crosby backhand shot from the slot:
It was a great goal. But the bad outweighed the good when that group was on the ice tonight.
"Obviously, they've been such a good line for us for so long," Sullivan said of the top line. "I think the last few games it's been a bit of a struggle for them, but it's not from a lack of effort. We're trying to help them through the process. But the standard is so high, the expectations are so high, because they've been such a good line for so long. They usually control the game for the majority of the time when they're out there. So we as a coaching staff are trying to help them through the process. We're trying to work through it with them together, just giving them some things, some insights, maybe that we see that might help. But obviously, we think they're capable of a lot. So we're going to work through it with them."
Could a shakeup be in order?
Rickard Rakell started the season on Crosby's right wing opposite Guentzel, with Rust on Evgeni Malkin's wing. The switch slowly happened after Guentzel got injured on Oct. 20 against the Kings. Danton Heinen stepped up to the top line for three games, then on Oct. 25 in Calgary Rakell was moved to the left and Rust got moved up to the top line. Those three stayed together for three games while Guentzel was out. Then when Guentzel returned Oct. 29 in Seattle, he resumed his usual spot on Crosby' left wing, but it was Rust who stayed up top, not Rakell. Rakell moved down to Malkin's wing. Including Tuesday's loss, that's how the lines have been for the last eight games.
Guentzel, Crosby and Rust have been together for 106:12 of five-on-five time in those eight games. In that time the Penguins have been outscored 11-6, and the Penguins have been outshot 58-53 with the top line on the ice. They have had the edge in high-danger shot attempts by a 28-17 margin, they just have had trouble converting.
The line of Guentzel, Crosby and Rakell was together for four games to start the season, playing 46:58 at five-on-five. They outscored opponents 5-1, outshot opponents 31-28, and had a sizable lead in high-danger chances at 16-5. That's a smaller sample size, and the team as a whole was having more success that early in the season, but it's a fact that the line had clear success in their time together.
Looking at the season as a whole, Crosby and Rust have been on the ice for 126:10 together at five-on-five without Rakell. They've been outscored 12-7 and outshot 71-61 in that time.
Crosby and Rakell have been on the ice for 80:36 at five-on-five without Rust. The Penguins outscored opponents 9-2 and outshot them 51-45 then.
I asked Crosby after Tuesday's game what impact it has on the line whether it's Rust or Rakell on that wing.
"It doesn't change anything," he said. "I think everyone's familiar with playing with each other. We've played a lot together. We've just got to be better. You know, we've had some good chances tonight. Unfortunately, we gave up a bunch defensively. Hopefully we continue to get chances and do a better job of keeping it open."
It wouldn't be accurate to say that Rust has been a problem. Rust and Malkin have had success this season while they've been together. They've been on the ice for 71:39, and outscored opponents 5-3 in that span and outshot them 53-39.
Why isn't it a clear-cut solution to just put the lines back the way they were? Because Malkin has found more success with Rakell too. Malkin's been on the ice for 104:16 without Rakell this season, and the Penguins outscored opponents 5-3 and outshot them 71-54. Malkin and Rakell have been together for 111:25, and outscored opponents 9-3 and outshot them 73-54 in that time.
That second line teamed up for the Penguins' first goal on Tuesday. Malkin set up Jason Zucker, and Zucker's shot went off of Rakell and in:
I asked Sullivan on Tuesday how he would assess the impact of the Rust-Rakell swap has had on both lines over the past few weeks.
"I think Geno's line has been really good," he said. "I think Sid's line has had its moments. They've had some games where they've been really, really good. I just think as of late, they haven't been at their best for whatever reason. But I think Geno's line has been really good lately."
Tuesday's game wasn't great from the first line by any stretch, but that line definitely hasn't looked close to this bad in their other games together. We've obviously seen Crosby, Guentzel and Rust have great success together over the years, so it's not unreasonable for the coaching staff to believe that it's possible to help that line find their game together again, and leave the Malkin-Rakell pair intact.
But if the top line doesn't start seeing better results soon, a switch isn't out of the question.
"We know we have options there," Sullivan said. "We talk about them daily. We're going to try and put the best combinations together that give us the best chance to win."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Teddy Blueger returned from the upper-body injury he sustained in training camp and made his season debut. Danny has more on his night and the impact it had on the fourth line here.
• Casey DeSmith was fine, and stopped 28 of 32 shots in the loss. He didn't get much help, though.
"I thought maybe we gave up a couple more odd man rushes tonight than previous games," he said. "You know, that team is really opportunistic, they're good off of the rush. They're really good in transition, they flood the zone a lot. They have a lot of skill. It's something you have to watch out for against that team."
• I wrote back in the game in Washington that the signs I had seen both at the morning skate and after the game indicated that Tristan Jarry was seemingly working through a minor injury. He said that much himself in Montreal two games later. He was asked if it was frustrating not getting the two previous starts, and he said that he had been working through some physical issues that impacted his play. That wasn't him offering up an excuse for his play in that loss, but rather him explaining why he wasn't frustrated to miss those two games. He wasn't just skipped over, there was a reason he didn't play. Jarry not starting tonight either makes it seem like he's still working through whatever it is.
• Why wouldn't the Penguins just sit Jarry entirely and call up another goaltender if he's hurting? Because whatever he's dealing with doesn't have him unable to play, but just has him not at his best when he does play, and because the Penguins don't have the luxury of making a recall anymore. With Blueger coming off of long-term injured reserve, the Penguins lose that cap relief and are back to having $72,819 in cap space. There's no room to recall Dustin Tokarski, who is currently the AHL's top goaltender. He leads the league in both goals-against average (1.58) and save percentage (.941) through seven games.
• Matt Murray had the win for Toronto in his first game back in Pittsburgh since the trade, making 35 of 37 stops.
• This was Murray's first game since the trade, but not his first time back. He came back to Pittsburgh with Ottawa last season but was held out with a non-COVID illness at that time. He got his tribute video then, that's why there wasn't one tonight.
• The Penguins went 0-for-3 on the power play, recording eight total shots on the man advantage. The power play remains a weak spot, but at least seemed to take some steps tonight.
"I thought they had a real good one there," Sullivan said. "They were shooting the puck and generating a fair amount. That's the semblance of the power play I think that they're capable of. They did everything but score on that particular power play. So I do think that's encouraging from our standpoint, and they can build on that."
• The Penguins outhit the Maple Leafs 50-25 on the official scoresheet tonight. That feels especially generous, especially for the home off-ice officials keeping count. Everyone but Malkin and Crosby recorded at least one hit, and Danton Heinen managed to lead with eight.
• There was a tiny mouse scurrying around in the media workroom after the game. That's also the room where Sullivan holds his postgame press conferences. The mouse ran under the platform where the podium stands before Sullivan arrived, though it poked its head back out a few times when Sullivan was talking about the team improving on the power play, seemingly in agreement.
• There are Christmas decorations around PPG Paints Arena already, with garland and wreaths and ornaments decorating the concourses, and a whole tree downstairs by the media entrance. See, you don't have to wait until Thanksgiving to put up your decorations.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at PPG Paints Arena
1. Michael Bunting, Maple Leafs LW
2. Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs C
3. Rickard Rakell, Penguins RW
THE INJURIES
• Defenseman P.O Joseph missed the games in Toronto and Montreal with a nagging lower-body injury sustained in the game in Washington. He practiced in full on Monday but was still out for Tuesday's game. It's unclear if that was still injury-related or if it was entirely a coaching decision.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell
Brock McGinn - Jeff Carter - Danton Heinen
Ryan Poehling - Teddy Blueger - Josh Archibald
Marcus Pettersson - Kris Letang
Brian Dumoulin - Jeff Petry
Chad Ruhwedel - Jan Rutta
And for Sheldon Keefe's Maple Leafs
Michael Bunting - Auston Matthews - William Nylander
Alex Kerfoot - John Tavares - Mitch Marner
Pierre Engvall - Pontus Holmberg - Calle Jarnkrok
Zach Aston-Reese - David Kampf - Denis Malgin
Morgan Rielly - Jordie Benn
Mark Giordano - Justin Holl
Rasmus Sandin - Timothy Liljergen
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will practice in Cranberry at noon on Wednesday before leaving for a four-day road trip. They'll play in Minnesota on Thursday, practice in Winnipeg on Friday, play in Winnipeg on Saturday, then play in Chicago on Sunday. Dejan will handle the Minnesota/Winnipeg portion of the trip, while I'll go to Chicago for that game.
THE CONTENT
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