If Wednesday's line combinations at practice were any indication, Jeff Carter will make his Penguins debut as second-line center Thursday evening against the Flyers.
Carter centered the line in line rushes, shifting Jared McCann over to the left wing and Jason Zucker over to his off wing on the right.
Carter began his career as a center but shifted to wing toward the end of his time in Los Angeles.
How has Carter fared in the faceoff circle as of late in different situations, and is he an upgrade over McCann in that area? Let's break it down.
Carter has been used sparingly in draws this season, taking just 95 over his 40 games this season. He's won 46.3 percent of them, a slight upgrade over McCann's success rate of 43.9 percent.
Diving deeper into the breakdown for each player for their faceoff stats in different situations, we can see how the Penguins might benefit from using McCann or Carter in the faceoff circle depending on the circumstances.
Centers usually have different faceoff success rates in different zones because of the rule that dictates which player puts his stick down first. The player in his own defensive zone has to put his stick down first, giving the opponent who is in his team's offensive zone the advantage. Some players find more success in faceoffs in one zone more than the other, some aren't affected too much by the change in who puts their stick down first.
Carter has taken a fair amount of draws in the offensive zone (47) and defensive zone (34) this season, and has struggled with defensive zone draws. He's done well in the offensive zone, winning 57.4 percent of all offensive zone faceoffs, but has won just 29.4 percent in the defensive zone when he has to put his stick down first.
McCann, on the other hand, hasn't had his success rate impacted much by the change in zone this season. He's taken 51 draws in the offensive zone and won 41.2 percent of them, and he's taken 37 draws in the defensive zone and won 40.5 percent of them.
Carter struggling with defensive zone faceoffs is a recent trend in his career, but if it's something that persists then we could see McCann move in and be the guy who takes faceoffs when that line is in their own zone.
One advantage of moving Carter to center over McCann is that it gives the Penguins a right-handed center in the lineup again, the only one now after Freddy Gaudreau was sidelined on a week-to-week basis after suffering a lower-body injury on Sunday.
The handedness of the opponent could be a factor in who takes the faceoff too. Both Carter and McCann have similar success rates when the opponent is left-handed, with Carter winning 44.3 percent of faceoffs against lefties and McCann winning 44.9 percent against lefties.
We see a difference though against right-handed centermen. McCann does a decent job against right-handed centers, winning 43.2 percent of those draws. Carter does much better, though, winning 56.2 percent of draws against fellow righties. So if the opponent is right-handed, the Penguins might be better off letting Carter take the draw.
Carter also spent time in Wednesday's practice working on the second power play and penalty-killing units, roles he also had in Los Angeles. He took limited faceoffs in those situations with the Kings, taking just 11 on the man advantage and 19 while shorthanded. He's done well on the power play, winning 72.7 percent of those faceoffs. He hasn't done well in shorthanded draws, winning 36.8 percent, which makes sense given his success rate in the defensive zone.
Mike Sullivan said that it would be an "exploratory process" in determining where exactly Carter will stick in the lineup, and it will surely change as the Penguins' injury situation improves. Regardless of where Carter ends up fitting in, he gives the Penguins more options when it comes to who takes faceoffs.
