Drive to the Net: Where is the first line? ☕

Three games in. Zero goals. Zero points.

What is going on with the Penguins' top line? Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, the team's two leading goal-scorers during the regular season, have been absent thus far while falling into a 3-0 series hole against the Islanders.

"You've got to find ways to score goals this time of year," Crosby said after the latest loss at PPG Paints Arena. "It's not easy, but you've got to find a way to do it. Obviously we haven't done a good enough job of that in three games."

After Game 2 on Long Island, Mike Sullivan said that he could never be "disappointed" in Crosby and Guentzel, because he knows what their effort level is like, he knows how much they care.

The effort isn't an issue. They just aren't connecting. In Game 3, Sullivan looked to provide a spark by shuffling the forward line combinations.

After playing Bryan Rust on the top line in the first two games, Dominik Simon was put back on the top line on Sunday. During the regular season, the top line saw the most success with Simon on that wing -- and not based on Corsi. Looking at the Goals For percentage, the line saw the same ratio of goals for to goals against with Rust as it did with Simon. That's clearly not because of any help from Simon's finishing ability, but his playmaking abilities and strong defensive game contribute to that.

Guentzel/Crosby/Rust (461:27 minutes): 66.67%

Guentzel/Crosby/Simon (32:38 minutes): 66.67%

Guentzel/Crosby/Hornqvist (108:55 minutes): 63.64%

Guentzel/Crosby/McCann (119:28 minutes): 58.33%

When we look at the Shots on Goal For percentage (still not Corsi), the line with Simon on the wing was the most successful.

Guentzel/Crosby/Rust: 53.85%

Guentzel/Crosby/Simon: 59.28%

Guentzel/Crosby/Hornqvist: 57.6%

Guentzel/Crosby/McCann: 57.25%

Still, Simon's move to the top line for Game 3 didn't provide the spark the team needed.

When the three were on the ice during 11:28 of five-on-five, the Penguins only recorded five shots on goal to the Islanders' nine. They just weren't able to connect cleanly. Here, on a three-on-one with Kris Letang in the final seconds of the first period, Guentzel sent the puck just out of reach of Simon:

The top line, in any form, hasn't been the strongest defensively this series. Crosby has been on the ice for four goals against in five-on-five this series, Guentzel has been on the ice for three. Both Crosby and Guentzel have been on the ice for more scoring chances faced than taken, with rates of 49.06 percent and 42 percent respectively.

The top line was on the ice for Brock Nelson's eventual game-winning goal on Sunday:

An ill-advised pinch by Justin Schultz created the 2-on-1 chance for the Islanders, but it was Crosby who initially turned the puck over. Crosby now ranks second on the team in giveaways this postseason, with eight. Only Letang, with 10, has more.

How have the Islanders neutralized the Penguins' stars? Matchups have only been a small part of it. In the first two games at home, when the Islanders had more control over matchups, the Penguins' top line did see a lot more of the Islanders' hard-hitting fourth line of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas, and Cal Clutterbuck. In Game 1, that line faced Crosby's line the most. In Game 2, that line was matched up against Crosby's line the second-most. The physicality of the Islanders' lineup, but especially that line, plays a part in shutting down the Penguins' stars.

Barry Trotz insists that his team hasn't taken a different approach against the Penguins' top line.

"The strategy is to stop everyone," said Trotz. "There isn't any focus on one particular guy. I think when you're on the ice against anybody in this league, you take care of your own business."

Could the pressure at this point be causing the Penguins' stars to perhaps grip their sticks a little too tightly? Sullivan believes so.

"I'm sure they are, because they have a lot of pride, and they have a lot of care, and they feel that's their contribution to helping us win," Sullivan said. "We just have to become more determined. We had a lot of looks around the net, the first part of the game we had a lot of offensive zone time. We could have gotten more pucks to the net I thought, we chose not to shoot the puck tonight. But I thought we had more significant zone time for sure, and we had a lot of looks around the net that we couldn't seem to finish on. ... It's not that opportunities didn't present themselves, we just haven't been able to finish on some of them."

It's great to have some small semblance of depth scoring in this series, but guys like Garrett Wilson and Erik Gudbranson shouldn't be among the guys tied for the team-lead in goals. The Penguins were never going to get out of this series without their top line playing a major role. Now, it may be too late to turn things around.

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY