Kasperi Kapanen has been a healthy scratch for nine of the Penguins' last 10 games.
The lone game in which he has played since Nov. 5 was out of necessity -- it was Nov. 12 in Montreal, and Kapanen was the only extra forward on that road trip. Filip Hallander was sidelined with an illness in that game, and Kapanen entered the lineup in his place. He was limited to just 7:19 of ice time in that game, a team-low by nearly three full minutes.
The Penguins' third line of Brock McGinn, Jeff Carter and Danton Heinen has progressively become more of a weak spot on the team since they were put together three weeks ago. They've been together for 10 games now, and in the 91:55 of ice time that the three have seen together at five-on-five in that span, they've been limited to just two goals and have been on the ice for just as many against. They've allowed (87) more shot attempts against than for (67) while they're on the ice.
Based on the Penguins' line combinations used in Monday's practice at the Hunt Armory in Shadyside, it looks like Mike Sullivan is shaking things up a little for Tuesday's game against the Hurricanes at PPG Paints Arena. And the third line's struggles have presented an opportunity for Kapanen to get back into the lineup.
Kapanen skated on the right wing of the third pairing in practice alongside McGinn and Carter in their usual spots. Heinen took line rushes on defense on an extra pairing with No. 7 defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, an indication that Heinen is set to be a healthy scratch in Tuesday's game.
Sullivan was asked point-blank after practice if Kapanen is going to play on Tuesday, and he had a little smile before giving his "all of our lineups are game-time decisions" line. But he spoke of what he'd be hoping to see from Kapanen if he hypothetically were to play tomorrow.
"If Kappy were to go in the lineup, we'd like him to be the player that he's capable of being," Sullivan said. "He can use his speed, he can challenge people with wide speed, he can get inside the dots and get to the net, he can be strong in the battle areas, he can bring a two-way conscientious game."
Sullivan also acknowledged the challenge of making these lineup decisions -- on one hand, the coaching staff needs to do what's best for the team on any given night. But at the same time, you don't want a player sitting as a healthy scratch for an extended period of time.
"We don't want any of our players sitting on the sidelines for any length of time," Sullivan said. "It's not good for the player, it's not good for the team. We're trying to make the best decisions we can game-to-game that help our team win. But also we've got a responsibility to each player on our team to try to help them grow and develop as well."
If you were to look at this roster at the start of the year and pick candidates who really could stand to have a bounce-back season after last year, Kapanen might have been near the top of the list. He had a goal in the Penguins' season-opener at home against Arizona, and it looked like he was on the right track. That remains his only goal of the year in the 13 games he's appeared in this season, and he's recorded just four assists to go along with it:
"I thought Kappy had a real good start to the season," Sullivan said. "When he plays the game a certain way and he uses his speed, his speed is his biggest asset in my opinion. We're trying to help Kappy utilize his speed in different capacities, whether it be challenging D off the rush, trying to take them wide and then take the puck to the net as opposed to turning up and forcing defenseman to have to defend. I think that's an area that that he can really help us there. If he doesn't get a scoring chance or score a goal, he's going to draw a penalty."
Sullivan said that there are other ways in which Kapanen can help the team, too.
"I think he's a big, strong guy," he said. "I think he could get involved in grinding down low in the cycle game. In today's game in the NHL, you have to be able to create offense different ways. It can't just be off the rush. There has to be a grind getting down low and that's an area where he's very capable. We're trying to help him out."
Being a healthy scratch isn't new to Kapanen -- he sat twice in games toward the end of last season. But sitting out for this many games in this amount of time is certainly a new experience for him. Even if Kapanen understands why he's been out of the lineup as long as he has, it still has to be a little frustrating to be a healthy scratch as often as he has over the last month. If he is frustrated on any level, you wouldn't be able to tell by watching him during this time. He's clearly working hard in practice and seems to be in a positive, upbeat mood on the ice and in the locker room. He travels with the team for road trips and he's always down there in the locker room afterward congratulating his teammates and cheering them on after a win. It's not that Kapanen is happy being a healthy scratch, but rather that he's not letting it affect his attitude around the team, which would just be counterproductive.
I asked Sullivan after practice what he's seen from Kapanen as far as his attitude and mindset behind the scenes throughout this process, and he described Kapanen's attitude as being "spectacular."
"He's been terrific," Sullivan said. "He's a great pro. He's a really good person. As difficult as it is for him -- and I know it is -- he's been a great teammate. He's controlling what he can. He's working hard through the process. His attitude is spectacular day-in and day-out, which is a credit to him."
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• The Penguins practiced at the newly-renovated Hunt Armory rink in Shadyside, a move that was aimed at promoting the rink and the work the team is putting into it. I'll have more on that in a separate story later today.
• The Penguins used these lines and pairings in practice:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Brock McGinn - Jeff Carter - Kasperi Kapanen
Ryan Poehling - Teddy Blueger - Josh Archibald
Marcus Pettersson - Kris Letang
P.O Joseph - Jeff Petry
Brian Dumoulin - Jan Rutta
(Danton Heinen - Chad Ruhwedel)
• Bryan Rust was back on the top power play unit, and Jeff Petry was back on the second unit.
"I had a college coach that once told me that the best way to start with a power play is to start with your best five players and then figure it out from there," Sullivan said of the decision. "There might be something to be said for that. But we believe in the group we have. We know we've got some different combinations. We know we have some versatility there. Jeff Petry is a good power play guy. Bryan Rust is a pretty good power play guy. (Rickard Rakell) is a pretty good power play guy. There's a lot of options there that we can go to. We're just trying to figure out a combination that gives us success."
• The Penguins utilized three goaltenders in practice, with emergency backup goaltender Mike Chiasson joining the group. Both Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith were full participants, Chiasson just joined the group to give them more flexibility in drills.
• Sidney Crosby said the issue that had him go to the locker room twice in the first period on Saturday was a skate problem. Asked if the issue stemmed from his kicking the boards in frustration after Toronto's opening goal, he smiled and said, "No, no, no, no. No. I don't know what you're talking about," and said that the skate issue happened prior to that. For what it's worth, I did notice Crosby getting his skate looked at extensively at the start of warmups by two members of the Penguins' equipment staff.
• Penguins president of business operations Kevin Acklin spoke following practice about the Hunt Armory rink, and I also asked him about the women's games in Cranberry this past weekend and where things currently stand regarding Pittsburgh getting a team of its own.
"We were very excited to host the four women's teams here," Acklin said. "We also had them in a suite (at PPG Paints Arena) on Saturday for the loss, of course. But we're always talking to Kendall (Coyne Schofield), and Amanda Kessel on our team is our inside-the-front-office ambassador for the growth of the game. So we're open and our ownership team at Fenway is open to hosting a an expansion team here at some point in the future. I think we'll just have to see what the details look like."
