A week ago, Kasperi Kapanen once again found himself out of the lineup as a healthy scratch due to inadequate performance. After drawing into the lineup in each of the Penguins' last three games, he's suddenly the team's fourth-most efficient point producer on a per-60-minutes basis.
Kapanen busted out of his funk with his best game of the season on Thursday against the Golden Knights, scoring the game-winning goal in the process. He followed that up with an even better performance on Saturday night in the Penguins' 6-2 win over the Blues, recording a hat trick and once again earning the honor of the game's No. 1 star.
His first goal, coming under seven minutes into the game after a Penguins power play had just expired, captured several elements that are bringing Kapanen success since he returned to the lineup:
He was in on the forecheck, moved the puck to an area where a teammate could get to it, presented himself as a pass option, slipped through open ice to the backdoor and was rewarded for it after P.O Joseph hit him with a diagonal pass that banked its way off Kapanen and to the back of the net.
Kapanen doesn't have to be the most physically imposing player to be effective along the wall. Just take another look at how his speed alone rushed Justin Faulk into over-skating the puck:
After the game, Mike Sullivan reiterated that since Kapanen returned to the lineup, he's been trying to get inside, going to the net, and challenging defensemen with his speed.
"He’s using his speed in so many different ways," Sullivan said. "I think his second effort and third effort -- we like to use the phrase ‘next effort.’ He’s just on the puck. When he loses it, he’s tracking it from behind. He’s doing a lot of the little things that add up to winning, and he’s getting pretty good looks as a result.
"We’re thrilled for him. Obviously, it’s not an easy experience when you’re out of the lineup. That’s hard for every player. That’s never easy for a coach, as well, having to make those types of decisions, but I think Kappy’s responded unbelievably well, and we’re certainly thrilled for him."
Of course, Kapanen was far from done after he opened the scoring.
With the Penguins out front 2-1 toward the end of the first period, Kapanen provided some cushion with his first power-play goal of the season and second tally of the game:
That's a different Kapanen than we were seeing early in the year. He's engaged. There's intent behind the plays he's making and the routes he's taking.
What great awareness to yet again sneak behind the defensive coverage with the puck being worked to the other side of the ice. We've all seen him stick to the perimeter in that situation before. This time, he got to the area where the vast majority of goals are scored and wound up with a glorious opportunity, served on a gold platter by Evgeni Malkin.
His hat-trick goal, coming slightly over halfway through the game with the Penguins on the power play again, was nearly identical, as Kapanen dished from the perimeter, got lost in space with the puck working to the other side, then made his way to the backdoor for the tap-in:
"That might’ve been the easiest hat trick in history, just going back post and kind of tapping them in," Kapanen said after the game. "All the credit goes to Rusty and P.O, and Geno, for passing those to me."
He noted that he's trying to hang onto pucks a bit more, as we witnessed on goal No. 2 and goal No. 3.
You might recall Kapanen busting out of an early-season slump with a hat trick last year on Nov. 6 against the Wild. In that game, though, two of his three goals were long-distance rips that made it to the back of the net. All three of his goals on Saturday were right around the cage.
"I think I haven’t been around the net as much as I should be," Kapanen told me. "Probably just trying to think about that and get into the paint, and sometimes good things happen. That happened today."
There's no denying that Kapanen can really unleash the puck on shots from distance, but we've seen over the past year that he really struggles to put himself into position for opportunities to utilize it. Not to say that 15-foot wristers are off the table entirely, but getting to the net could be the route to still getting on the scoresheet when those looks aren't there or if the puck isn't going in.
"A lot of the goals are being scored there, so might as well take a shot at that," Kapanen said of the net-front area.
All five of Kapanen's goals this season have come from right around the crease. He now has 10 points in 16 games this season, five of which have come in his last two games.
"I think it’s building and it’s a good sign," Kapanen said. "Like I said the previous game, it hasn’t been the easiest month or so, but just happy to be out there and playing games and winning games. Obviously, your confidence is gonna grow."
Kapanen wasn't the only Penguins skater who had a much-needed breakout in this one, as Bryan Rust recorded a four-point night after going without a point in 13 of his last 14 games prior to Saturday.
Rust has been the one member of the Penguins' top-six who hasn't been able to find their footing to this point of the season. While he certainly has struggled with puck management at times, he was still creating a fair amount of chances for himself. He just wasn't finishing. Coming into the game, Rust had generated 9.92 expected goals this season -- the second most on the team -- but he had only five actual goals to show for it.
He's made it a point to keep shooting because, well, how else are you going to snap out of it?:
OK, Rust has been creating chances this season, but he hasn't been creating chances like that as frequently as you'd hope.
After a great forechecking display in which he gained inside positioning to secure the puck along the wall, he peeled inside and walked the seam -- almost as if the Blues were begging him to do so -- as he assertively blew a shot past Jordan Binnington.
"It feels good," Rust said of breaking the slump. "I think over the last handful of games I could kind of feel it coming. It definitely felt good. Our line as a whole, we kind of felt it coming ..."
During 10:16 of 5-on-5 work, the Jason Zucker - Malkin - Rust line outscored the Blues 2-1, out-attempted them 15-10, and controlled 70.3% of the expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick.
"Anytime you go through stretches like that, it’s in the back of your head, but I’ve gone through stretches like that before," Rust said. "I’ve gone through stretches much worse. You try and stay level-headed. Try and talk to your line mates, try and talk things out as much as possible, and then just play hockey. Get out of your own head and just play hockey."
While Sullivan didn't know that a performance like this was coming, he felt that Rust and the second line have been trending positively as of late.
"I don’t know if I sensed a breakout. We felt like their game has been building," Sullivan said of the second line. "I think Geno’s been pretty consistent with just his command of the puck, and he’s a threat when he’s on the ice most nights. I think Rusty’s game has gotten a lot better. Probably the last three or four games, we felt as though Rusty’s game was really starting to come."
This was Rust's fourth multi-point game of the season and the first time he had more than two in a game. He now has six goals and eight assists this season and appears well on his way to re-solidifying the Penguins' top-six as one of the best in hockey.
With Kapanen emerging as well, the Penguins are getting some answers. Now it's all about keeping it up for a meaningful period of time.
JOE SARGENT / GETTY
Bryan Rust celebrates his first-period goal against the Blues on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• We are watching Binnington lose his mind right before our very eyes. Several days after going out of his way to try and deck Jordan Staal when the Blues played the Hurricanes, Binnington unraveled against the Penguins. It all started when he was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking Zucker. Upon review, it was determined that Binnington's glove -- not his stick -- popped Zucker in the face, thus, no penalty at all.
Zucker got his revenge the next period with his sixth goal of the season:
The tally marked the end of the night between the pipes for Binnington. On his way off the ice from being yanked, he had some words for the Penguins' bench.
Just a moment later, Thomas Greiss made his way to the crease and promptly took a tumble upon arrival:
What a sport.
Taylor Haase has much more on all of it in a Freeze Frame.
• With the victory, the Penguins improved to 13-8-4 this season. They have a +11 goal differential and currently hold the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
• I'm just amazed at how well Joseph continues to play. I've believed for a while that he's an NHLer, but I never envisioned him blossoming into the player we're seeing right now. His vision has really stood out, and that's been amplified by his ability to make swift, simple plays to exit the defensive zone, as well as the way he's been distributing the puck from the point in the offensive zone.
With him on the ice during 14:52 of 5-on-5 work, the Penguins outscored the Blues 3-1, out-attempted them 17-10, and controlled 67.3% of the expected goals, the highest mark for the game among Penguins defenders.
Sullivan provided a detailed answer as to why Joseph is flourishing.
"I just think the game’s slowing down for him," he said. "With each additional game that he plays, I just think he gets a little more comfortable. He gets used to the pace of play, he gets used to how quick windows of opportunity open and close. He’s having an awareness of where people are, where the pressure points are so he has an idea of what he’s going to do with the puck before it gets there.
"Those are all subtle adjustments that I think when players try to enter this league that they need to adjust to, and just the speed of the game. How quickly players in this league think the game, and then actually execute, is just so much faster than every other league in the world. ... And it takes time, especially as a defenseman because it’s a difficult position to play. I just think with every game that he plays, he gets a little bit more confident, the game slows down in his brain when he’s processing the game, and as a result, I think we’re seeing a more complete player."
• I've alluded to it already, but Malkin's game was absolutely on point. He picked up three assists, giving him four over his last two games after being held off the scoresheet in his previous four games.
"I think Geno’s been fairly consistent most of the year with his presence out there," Sullivan said. "When he’s at his best, the puck follows him it seems, and he has the puck an awful lot."
Malkin's got eight goals and 16 assists in 25 games this season.
• Tristan Jarry stopped 26 of 28 shots from the Blues. He wasn't tested with very many high-octane chances, but did make several nice saves throughout. He would, however, like to have back Pavel Buchnevich's first-period goal:
Jarry is 6-0-1 in his last seven starts. He has posted a .919 save percentage or higher in all but one of them.
• For as great as the second line was, the Penguins' first line of Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell was nearly as good, they just didn't have the goals to show for it this time. Their line diced up the Blues' defensive coverage with quick passing sequences for the duration of the game. During all situations, the three of them combined for 27 shot attempts and 18 (!) scoring chances, but it wasn't until the 27th attempt that one of them crossed the red line: Crosby's empty-netter late in the game to make it 6-2.
• Crosby's goal gives him 13 in 25 games, a 42-goal pace. He's averaging 1.32 points per game this season, several decimal points higher than his career-average of 1.27.
• The power play went 2-for-4 and has goals in consecutive games for the first time since Oct. 25 and Oct. 28. The units received a slight shakeup, as Rakell was on the first unit in place of Rust, who slid down to the second unit.
• With his promotion to the top power-play unit, Rakell led all Penguins forwards with 21:40 of ice-time.
• The penalty-kill had another solid night, killing both Blues power plays. They have killed 22 of 24 opposing power plays since Teddy Blueger returned to the lineup on Nov. 15.
"I think Teddy has a significant influence on it without a doubt," Sullivan said of the penalty kill. "But I think the other guys deserve credit, as well. Obviously, Teddy, he was missed when he was out of the lineup. He helps in so many ways. No. 1, he’s familiar with the scheme, first and foremost. He’s played it for a couple years, and he’s just a smart player."
• Joseph and Josh Archibald tied for the team-lead in hits with five each.
• Malkin went 6-1 on faceoffs, improving his success rate on the season to 52.4%. He has won more than 50% of his faceoffs in a season just once, the 2019-20 season when he won 50.3% of them.
• Jeff Petry played a team-high 24:25 during all situations. He had three shot attempts, two hits, two blocked shots and two takeaways. When he was on the ice at 5-on-5, no goals were scored on either side, but the Penguins controlled 59.7% of the expected goals.
• Thanks for reading!
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at PPG Paints Arena:
1. Kasperi Kapanen, Penguins RW
2. Bryan Rust, Penguins RW
3. Jason Zucker, Penguins LW
THE INJURIES
• Kris Letang remains out indefinitely after suffering a stroke last Monday night. He has been on the ice to skate in non-hockey fashion and is working out a bit.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Brock McGinn - Jeff Carter - Kasperi Kapanen
Ryan Poehling - Teddy Blueger - Josh Archibald
Marcus Pettersson - Jeff Petry
Brian Dumoulin - Jan Rutta
P.O Joseph - Chad Ruhwedel
And for Berube's Blues:
Pavel Buchnevich - Robert Thomas - Vladimir Tarasenko
Brandon Saad - Ryan O'Reilly - Josh Leivo
Ivan Barbashev - Brayden Schenn - Tyler Pitlick
Nathan Walker - Noel Acciari - Will Bitten
Nick Leddy - Colton Parayko
Torey Krug - Justin Faulk
Calle Rosen - Niko Mikkola
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins have the day off on Sunday and will hold their team Christmas party. They'll be back on the ice for practice on Monday, 11 a.m., at PPG Paints Arena. Their next game is Tuesday night at home against the Blue Jackets.
THE CONTENT
Visit our team page for everything.
