Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel will have new linemates tonight both at even strength and on the power play.
Teddy Blueger will skate as the left winger on the second line while Nick Bjugstad will skate with Malkin and Kessel on the second power play unit for tonight's big rivalry game against the Capitals at PPG Paints Arena. Those, of course, are the same configurations that ended Sunday night's win over the Bruins.
While it hardly comes as a surprise that Mike Sullivan would mix up his leaky power play after giving up 14 shorthanded goals, it is interesting that Blueger will get the call at even strength.
Blueger was pressed into service in the third period vs. Boston when Zach Aston-Reese went down with a lower body injury. Following Tuesday's morning skate, Sullivan reported that Aston-Reese is being listed as "day-to-day."
"We thought (Blueger) played pretty well in the third period and in the second half of the game when we lost Zach the other night," Sullivan explained. "He brings a defensive conscience to the line. He's a center iceman, he can take face-offs. He's pretty good on the forecheck. He's a good, solid two-way player."
This presents an opportunity for Blueger, a 24-year-old "veteran" of 15 NHL games. Over the past year he'd been billed as the Penguins' third- or fourth-line center of the future. Well, ready or not, he's a top-six winger. Blueger said the transition from center to wing, from bottom-six to top, has been a progression but feels he's up to the task.
"I was bottom-six, but I think I've gotten better and shown I can produce at that level," he said. "As long as I keep working and getting better every day, there's nothing that can stop me from doing that at the next level."
Not only is he top-six, he's charged with being the defensive conscience for two of the NHL's most offensively gifted players in Malkin and Kessel. Blueger scored three goals in his first seven games after being recalled from Wilkes-Barre last month but has since gone eight games without finding the back of the net.
"I think for me, I'm not going to change anything; play hard and defend well and try and create space for those guys," he said. "I think last game, kind of give them the puck and go to the net pretty much. Just keep it simple for me and let those guy make the plays."
If what the Penguins showed during Tuesday's morning skate holds up, the power play units will have two defensemen on each.
On the first unit, Sidney Crosby was up front with Jake Guentzel and Patric Hornqvist while Marcus Pettersson and Justin Schultz were on the back end. The second unit had Bjugstad, Malkin and Kessel up front with Zach Trotman and Brian Dumoulin on defense.
BRADFORD'S VIEW
Sullivan had few options for the second-line left winger, and none of them great with Bryan Rust also out of the lineup. Blueger certainly has the defensive chops to play in a top-six role and can handle the defensive duties to babysit Malkin and Kessel while those two do their thing offensively.
The only other player who could fit that bill would have been Jared McCann. By not placing McCann on the second line and promoting Dominik Simon back on the top line, that should tell you all you need to know what Sullivan thinks about McCann with Guentzel and Crosby. The Crosby line has been the catalyst for the Penguins during their current 6-2-2 run. If the Penguins are to get by the Capitals, that line will have to carry the load offensively.
Kessel has just one goal since the start of February while Malkin, who is two points shy of 1,000 for his career, has just two assists in the last four games.
By playing with an inexperienced Blueger, perhaps that will force Kessel and Malkin to simplify things and result in them finally getting back to their games.
• The Penguins will face the Capitals for the first time tonight since Dec. 19 (aka, the Jamie Oleksiak-Tom Wilson fight). Obviously, that was before Erik Gudbranson was acquired from the Panthers. Gudbranson knows what his role is, but he wasn't talking about it:
• Not much news coming out of the Capitals room on Tuesday. That's what happens when you win seven in a row as Washington has. The Capitals held a full skate at PPG where, afterward, one Russian seemed interested in whether another might reach a milestone tonight. "I'll be happy if he gets it," Alex Ovechkin said of Malkin. "It's a big number. He's a great player. If not tonight, tomorrow."
• Tonight also marks the return of Carl Hagelin, who won a pair of rings with the Penguins before being dealt to the Kings for Tanner Pearson in November. Pearson was later flipped for Gudbranson, while Hagelin was acquired by the Capitals at the deadline for draft picks. So you know what that means, right?
Of course, Hagelin will get a standing ovation during the first TV timeout, right? Well, he should if he doesn't rock out to Phil Collins with Wilson pre-game:
New guy = new pregame rituals pic.twitter.com/7jS2G1x5SK
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) March 3, 2019
• Here's the Penguins' lines and pairs during the morning skate (Kris Letang skated in a non-contact jersey on a fourth pair with Juuso Riikola):
McCann-Crosby-Guentzel
Blueger-Malkin-Kessel
Simon-Bjugstad-Hornqvist
Wilson-Cullen-Blandisi
Dumoulin-Trotman
Johnson-Schultz
Pettersson-Gudbranson
Murray
