Kovacevic: Patience vs. panic for Penguins' (familiar) problems

CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Mike Sullivan's already made clear on the young NHL season that he's got no use for comparisons to 2022-23, when the Penguins sat out the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in forever, but they're close to impossible to avoid when my scrawled-out list of issues still looks like this:

• Virtually no depth scoring
• Virtually no defensive depth
• Long second-period lulls
• Blown late leads
• Can't finish golden chances
• Can't clear their crease area
• Unwillingness to change a thing

OK, so that last one's a little unfair. As Lars Eller reminded me pointedly yesterday after practice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, "We'll be fine. It's been four games."

Yep. Four. With half of those being Ws. Hardly the end of local hockey as we know it.

And from everything I'm able to absorb, from the locker room on up, the default-mode mindset leans hard toward patience and not at all toward panic. Which is fine. That's as it should be, in the broadest possible sense.

At the same time, though, I'm also sensing that this season might see some change in where that patience/panic threshold's placed.

Thumb back up to those top two bullets again. Because they've been the early killers to date. And, thus, they're the principal reminders of all that went awry last winter, as well.

The third and fourth lines currently have combined for zero goals. And one assist, that by Eller. That's it. And undoubtedly more concerning, they're not generating much of anything in any category, lowlighted by those six players registering 25 total shots on goal. That's a blight on Eller, Drew O'Connor, Noel Acciari, Matt Nieto, Jeff Carter and, in the past tense, Jansen Harkins.

See, Harkins was placed on waivers after this practice. He'll likely be reclaimed by Winnipeg, but he won't be back here regardless.

After four games.

Where I come from, that looks like accountability. And referencing other recent seasons under other executives, that looks like rapid-fire accountability.

The defensive depth was rocket-boosted with the robust acquisition of Erik Karlsson, as he and Kris Letang are now eating up more than 80% of all minutes on the right side. One would think that'd make life a lot simpler for Chad Ruhwedel, who might as well be the Maytag repairman with his sparse usage. But instead, he's been a wreck from the opener onward, and P.O Joseph's been only marginally better.

But see, here again, less than 24 hours after Ruhwedel and Joseph made for a matador tandem in Detroit, there was Ryan Shea, the AHL journeyman who surprisingly made the roster out of camp, taking half of Ruhwedel's reps in drills yesterday. Leaving open the chance he'll make his NHL debut as soon as tomorrow night in St. Louis.

After four games.

These types of decisions tend to be made jointly, following discussion between coaches and a GM, here or anywhere. But in this scenario, from what I'm told, Kyle Dubas is the one setting the standard. And that standard, I'm further told, will apply in the double for players on the periphery. That's why he wrapped up all those Vinnie Hinostroza types to stock the roster in Wilkes-Barre. If one falters up here, there'll always be a few down there.

New sheriff 'n' at.

MORE PENGUINS

• Not to kick a waiver dude on the way out, but Harkins' headless-chicken approach wasn't exactly helping the third line. He can skate, he can shoot and, in the AHL, he can even score. But at the NHL level ... let's just say Eller and O'Connor are about to look like they've got real chemistry, just by virtue of Harkins being out.

• Eller's not the smartest guy on the rink for nothing. I asked yesterday why his line's still seeing so many one-and-done zone entries -- puck goes in, puck comes right back out -- and all he had in response was this hockey thesis: “Yeah, so I think right now we’re kind of playing a really low-risk game where we’re putting pucks north all the time. We’re getting out of our zone. We’re getting it deep. We’re not turning pucks over at the blue line. We’re not trying to do too much. But at the same time, the next step right now is getting the forecheck to be more effective, which means we have to force turnovers off getting the puck deep and getting on the forecheck. That’s the part of the game that’s lacking a little bit now, and that’s what’s stopping us from getting extended zone time. So, the first step is, when we get it in deep, which we are most of the time, we have to get it back. And now, we’ve got to do better of working three together, breaking up plays with sticks, getting bodies, keeping the puck alive. Right now, that’s what’s stopping us from getting more offense, I think. So, that’s the first step. Once we do that, then we can talk about, ‘How do we cycle? How do we find the open lanes? How do we find the open ice?’ We’ve got to get the puck right now and keep it alive. Right now, we’re not spending a ton of time in our zone. We’re playing responsible. We’re not giving up a lot, you know, but we’re not generating as much as we’re capable of. I think that’s where it starts for me."

• He'll coach Denmark's national team someday. Mark my words.

• No talks between the Penguins and Jake Guentzel toward an extension. None are expected imminently. That said, I wouldn't waste any worrying on it. There's tons of time, not to mention tons of mutual will. He's Sidney Crosby's left winger, for crying out loud, and everything that's being witnessed with this roster construction is being done to support Sid.

• Evgeni Malkin's energy level on the ice, visible to all, is being matched off the ice. Not sure I've ever seen him with this much palpable passion for everything about the job. Enjoying every moment.

• Geno did make a trip back to Russia over the offseason, I'm told, to visit the parents. Everyone's doing fine.

STEELERS

• Diontae Johnson's imminent return offers me the opportunity to share that, all through his absence, he stayed by George Pickens' side. Walking, talking, grabbing a bite to eat and, of course, on the sideline. All with the chin up. Really impressive. Take my word for it that not all injured players carry themselves this way.

• It'll be about the run. Don't bite on any distracting information to the contrary. All this post-bye talk about examining the offense from all angles, including from Matt Canada yesterday, is cloud cover for coming out Sunday in a run-first, run-hard formation. Just like this time last year.

• There won't be any change in running back usage, and that's chiefly because all three will be utilized. Yeah, I said three: Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and Anthony McFarland. It can't be overstated the extent to which he was utilized as part of the regular offense in Latrobe and through the preseason. He's got a rare-air burst for bonus yards if he can hit the edge, and that alone can stretch a defensive front over the course of four quarters. He's also a receiving threat.

• The main reason Mike Tomlin isn't replacing Dan Moore with Broderick Jones, though he'd never confess as much, is a long-held belief that a mainstay starter shouldn't lose that role due to injury. He's made exceptions, but they've been sparse. Now, why he'd consider Moore to hold such status when he was just in a man-vs.-man positional battle through training camp is anyone's guess, but I'm just the messenger.

• Kenny Pickett needs to be better for Canada to be seen internally as the problem. All I'll say on that count for now.

• Stop fretting about Mason Cole vs. Aaron Donald. He'll have ample help. This won't be the first time Tomlin's seen A.D. And there won't be anyone in the Steelers' orbit unaware of what it'll mean to A.D. facing his hometown team maybe for the final time. Isaac Seumalo will be involved, as will James Daniels.

• For anyone still thinking of the inside linebackers as a general trio of equals ... that's not the case on the inside. Cole Holcomb's become the main man, on and off the field. And neither Kwon Alexander nor Elandon Roberts, both blessed with their own alpha personalities, has any issue with it. As Roberts told me, "Everyone eats. He just eats for three downs." Loved it.

PIRATES

• There can't conceivably be a brighter sight for fans of the franchise than to see a young prospect receiving hitting instruction from the outside:

That's Henry Davis taking cuts at the renowned Driveline Baseball facility in Kent, Wash., under the tutelage of Maxx Garrett. And whatever Davis' reasons might be for doing so, it's at least an experience beyond working with Andy Haines, who's gotten almost no results out of any young player upon that player's arrival in Pittsburgh. 

• And hey, on that note ...

The number of people betting on Josh Palacios to make a major impression on the Pirates in 2024 is short, but it most assuredly includes Palacios. This is one confident young man who doesn't see any of his various clutchy/dramatic performances this past summer as anything more than what he expects of himself. I asked him on the final road trip in Philadelphia if he sees himself as a starter next year, and he didn't flinch. "Absolutely. And that's what I've got to show."

• Maybe it's just me, but is anyone else put off by the Pirates' business operations building out this new little park/eating area across from the Honus Wagner statue while simultaneously slumlord-ing all these vacant storefronts on the Federal Street side of PNC Park? Not everyone there's happy about it, to say the least. Not a great look for the corporate business occupying a full city block.

• I'm a voting member of the Hall of Fame through being a decade-plus member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, but I won't have a ballot with Jim Leyland's name on it. That duty falls on the Contemporary Baseball Era committee, and the deliberating falls on Dec. 3 at the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn. But I'll share this much: There's not a baseball person alive that Leyland hasn't treated ... not just with respect but almost like a best friend. That maybe shouldn't count, but it will. Everyone everywhere would want to see him honored. Imagine the tears. Meaning his.

• Thanks for reading Insider. I'm flying to L.A. tomorrow for football.