COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The goals have been plentiful for the Penguins' loaded top power play unit, but outside of their man-advantage excellence and continued production from their top five-on-five trio of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust, there hasn't been enough secondary scoring.
Despite riding four consecutive victories, Mike Sullivan opted to tinker with his middle-six line combinations during Wednesday's practice in hopes of sparking more consistent offense throughout the lineup.
Jeff Carter and Danton Heinen skated on Evgeni Malkin's wings while Evan Rodrigues centered Kasperi Kapanen and Brock McGinn. I find the adjustment to be incredibly shrewd on Sullivan's end.
Malkin has averaged a point per game through his first 14 contests, but during five-on-five play he has two goals and a lone primary assist to go along with a couple of secondary helpers. Kapanen, the right winger Malkin has spent almost 70% of his five-on-five ice-time with, hasn't recorded a single point over his previous nine games. The only point Kapanen has recorded in his past 11 was the result of a Malkin shot that plunked Kapanen in the foot and made its way to the back of the net.
The duo was incredibly opportunistic together last season. With both of them on the ice at five-on-five, the Penguins scored 3.5 goals per hour, but they were heavily outchanced. This season, their share of quality chances has slightly improved, but their goal-scoring rate has dropped to 2.3 goals per hour.
That rate doesn't figure to improve any time soon with Kapanen refusing to attack the net with the puck on his stick:
That no-look backhand pass directly to the opposition was a new twist on Kapanen's patented pirouette at the right circle off the rush. Both moves are great ... if you're in the business of killing offensive zone time before you so much as establish your presence.
I'm not giving up on the idea of a Malkin and Kapanen partnership for good, but they can't be together right now. Not until Kapanen finds his confidence and figures out how to properly utilize his speed on a consistent basis.
The good news is that the Penguins played like world-beaters with Kapanen and Rodrigues on the ice together at five-on-five earlier in the season. In 231 such minutes, the Penguins outscored the opposition 13-1 (yes, really) while controlling 62.7% of the expected goals, per Evolving Hockey. Part of that can be attributed to Rodrigues' career-best play at the time, but his defensive impacts along with his ability to be a one-man transition machine leads me to believe that combo can continue to work. Plus, Rodrigues has been far more involved and positively impactful when slotted up the middle instead of the wing.
Sullivan's tweaks also figure to bode well for Carter, who might just be what Malkin needs to get going at five-on-five. Compare the above Kapanen rush to the below Carter rush:
After hopping over the boards and dashing through the middle to receive a pass, Carter was able to fire a deceptive shot on goal that produced a big rebound, all because he faked as if he were going to attempt one of the same moves that has detracted from Kapanen's success all season. He really sold it, too, by looking off the defender and subtly decelerating.
But anyone that has watched Carter with regularity knew that puck was destined to find itself on its way to the net. And that's exactly why moving him to the wing alongside Malkin could pay dividends. If the puck is on Carter's stick, no matter where he may be in the offensive zone, you can count on him ripping a shot toward the net or throwing the puck into traffic out front. If the puck isn't on his stick, he's frequently working his way to the battle-area on the doorstep or finding the soft spots in the mid-to-high slot.
It goes without saying, but Malkin could immensely benefit from a trigger-man that will actually, you know, shoot the puck, or even get to the area where the vast majority of all goals are scored.
Carter's transition from center to wing should put him in more favorable situations to leverage his skillset as well. On the season, Carter has the lowest five-on-five expected goals share (47.8%) and second-lowest five-on-five goals share (45%) of regular Penguins skaters. At wing, Carter will have far less territory to cover defensively, and won't have to be nearly as involved in the Penguins' breakout.
At 37 years old, Carter isn't a shifty skater by any means, but he still has decent speed to be utilized when he isn't the focal point of exiting the defensive zone:
It wasn't nearly as pretty as Connor McDavid doing it, but notice how Carter used linear crossovers (each stride is a crossover, no forward strides) to build speed and create separation from his coverage. The constant changing of lanes and angles with each crossover makes a skater much more difficult to track and defend, especially because they can cut either direction in an instant.
Also make note of how quickly Carter processed the landscape in front of him. His winger, Rodrigues, recognized the Penguins were about to obtain possession of the puck and shifted to the middle and blew the zone to stretch the ice. Rather than Carter attempting to offer close support and run the risk of bunching up, he assumed the role of the right winger and identified the optimal lane to get up ice.
Reads like that will be crucial playing next to Malkin, who we all know could be anywhere on the ice at any given time.
When I'm coaching, I always stress the importance of building up with the play and getting your feet moving without the puck. Carter provided a great example in Sunday's victory over the Devils:
Where has that been from Kapanen this season?
Regardless, Carter didn't need to be the league's fastest skater to make that play happen. It's better to be slightly late to your spot but with speed, like Carter displayed there, instead of arriving too early and being forced to halt your momentum. Malkin's not too shabby at hitting his wingers in-stride with beautiful passes.
Aside from the reasons I've covered, Carter makes sense on Malkin's flank because he can take strong-side and defensive zone faceoffs. Carter's 57% success rate at the dot this season ranks eighth across the NHL. Malkin's success rate checks in at a lousy 42.4%, and has been 50% or higher just once in his entire career.
Then, of course, is Carter's ability to absolutely hammer the puck (and this one actually came playing on Malkin's wing):
That eagerness to get the puck on goal should offset Malkin's occasional habit of looking for one extra pass or play. The first time he gets the puck to Carter, it's likely heading toward the net.
In a lot of ways, Malkin and Carter are very different players, but those differences are the same reasons why their partnership could jump-start each other's performance at five-on-five.
