SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Penguins' fourth line was pointless in their first nine games of the season.
That's to say, of course, that the trio of Matt Nieto, Noel Acciari, and Jeff Carter had combined for exactly zero goals in the Penguins' 3-6 start to the season. Not even a single assist on another player's goal, either.
They weren't a liability by any means. They were only on the ice together for one goal against through those nine games, and managed to control a near-even share of shot attempts when on the ice. That's despite seeing about every 1 in 5 faceoffs come in the offensive zone, being deployed primarily in a very defensive role.
Still, a line can only go so many games without scoring a single goal. Change was inevitable. The long-term injury to Alex Nedeljkovic finally opened some cap space to recall an extra forward in Vinnie Hinostroza, and after the schedule allowed for a handful of practices to get Hinostroza acclimated in his new role, Mike Sullivan made his move on Saturday in San Jose, Calif. against the Sharks. Carter was a healthy scratch, and Hinostroza slotted in on his spot on the right side of the fourth line.
It made a world of difference.
Hinostroza and Nieto each netted goals in the Penguins' 10-2 clubbing of the Sharks to open the team's California road trip. But even beyond the goals, the addition of Hinostroza provided such a spark to the whole line.
The Penguins entered the second period up 2-0 after a pair of goals by Reilly Smith. Jake Guentzel's 200th NHL goal made it 3-0 to open the second period, and the fourth line got in on the action just over a minute later with Hinostroza's tally from a tough angle:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) November 5, 2023
"It comes through the neutral zone, and Nieto just made a good dump and got it in," Hinostroza said. "That's our game -- forechecking. Noel got in there on the forecheck, and our D just gave it to me because he was pressured. I just banked it off the goalie and luckily it went in."
Nieto said that Hinostroza's goal is just an example of something that line was doing well all night..
"I just thought we made some good plays coming up the ice and were able to get in on the forecheck," Nieto told me. "You know, I think our first goal is the result of a good forecheck."
After Anthony Duclair got the Sharks on the board with a power play goal, both Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang responded with goals of their own within the next minute. Nieto capped off the middle frame with a chance off the rush, banging in the rebound off of Acciari's initial shot:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) November 5, 2023
"It was a good breakout on Matty's goal," Acciari told me. "We had a two on one and he was able to hammer it home."
Goals from Bryan Rust, Malkin and Guentzel in the third period capped off the blowout win.
In a 10-2 win, most everyone on the winning side has a good night on the box score and in the advanced analytics reports. But no Penguins line had a better night when it comes to controlling play than the fourth line did. When those three were on the ice at the same time, the Penguins controlled 77.78% (7-2) of the shots on goal, a team-best. Looking at the expected goals -- which simply quantifies the quality of the scoring chances -- the fourth line controlled 75.68% (0.58-0.19), also a team best. That's not a result of a change in deployment -- that line only had one offensive zone faceoff together all night. They were just overall better.
Acciari said that he thought his line's success started with just being good in their own end, getting pucks out, and then just being good on the forecheck.
Hinostroza, of course, was a big part of that.
"He's a great player," Nieto said of HInostroza. "He has a lot of speed, the ability to make plays, ability to score. He was fantastic. It was fun playing with him."
"He was great tonight stepping in," Acciari added. "He's fast, handles the puck really well, seeing things, his speed too, he's good on the wall."
Sullivan said that he thought Hinostroza had a "strong impact" on his line in the win.
"Obviously they chip in offensively for us, which is an important aspect for the overall group when you get contributions up and down the lineup like we did today, it improves your chances to win." Sullivan said. "But it was more than that. I thought his speed was really evident. I thought he was on pucks. He made good decisions. I think they're a line that part of their identity in helping our team win is is creating momentum for our team. They get a lot of defensive zone starts, we put them in tough spots. But when they can win the face off and drive the puck down the ice and create some offensive zone time, that goes a long way in helping our team win games. We get momentum off of it."
Hinostroza credited his linemates first and foremost with that line's success tonight. He said that his goal coming into the game was just to "keep it simple," given that it's his first game, and the communication with both Nieto and Acciari on the bench was paramount to him just getting comfortable and acclimated so quickly.
One game is a small sample size. It's also one game against the league's worst team, off to a historically bad start. It's far too soon to say that any of the Penguins' problems are solved. But it's definitely not out of the question to say that swapping out one player for another could totally invigorate a line. We've seen it already this season.
The Penguins played four games with a third line of Drew O'Connor, Lars Eller and Jansen Harkins before swapping Harkins out for Radim Zohorna. When the trio with Harkins was on the ice at five-on-five, the Penguins controlled 41.82% of all shot attempts and 34.92% of all expected goals. Obviously, not great. They weren't generating much as far as offense goes themselves, and they were allowing good chances in the other direction. With Zohorna on that line, the Penguins control 66.34% of all shot attempts and 70.55% expected goals. That one swap led to all the difference.
Hinostroza has certainly earned the right to see a few more games on that line. If that line keeps producing, it's hard to imagine that Carter gets back into the lineup anytime soon barring an injury to a forward. Hinostroza knows that he needs to keep earning his spot in the lineup, of course.
"It feels great to contribute," he said. "But it's only one game. So I think I'm definitely not satisfied and want to just keep getting better every day."
Sullivan said on Saturday morning before the game that Carter was handling the scratch like a "great pro" and that he would continue to be a big part of the team moving forward.
"Carts and I have had a number of conversations in his time here with the Penguins and we'll continue to have more conversations moving forward, whether he's in the lineup or he's not in the lineup," Sullivan said. "He's an important player for this team. He will be a big part of the solution, regardless of whether he's in the lineup. But we have a ton of respect for him as a player and as a person and everything that he brings to our organization."
That doesn't mean that Sullivan's itching to get Carter back into games. The lineup that gives the Penguins the best chance to win will be the one that gets dressed. By Carter being "part of the solution," Sullivan is talking about his leadership and everything he brings off the ice -- the respect from his teammates, his professionalism, and how he carries himself. He can still bring that even as a scratch.
You could see a little bit of that in the locker room after this win here over the Sharks. Usually healthy scratches will stop by the room after a game, but won't hang around too long. Carter stayed in there a long time, looking happier than I've ever seen him -- hyping up his teammates and chatting with them about the game. That's the kind of attitude that Sullivan was talking about.
Again, it's one game. Hinostroza might not be the long-term solution moving forward for that line. Maybe he is, and Carter will be seeing a lot more time as a scratch moving forward. Time will tell. But Saturday's game in here was a giant step in the right direction for the Penguins' fourth line.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at SAP Center:
1. Bryan Rust, Penguins RW
2. Reilly Smith, Penguins LW
3. Jake Guentzel, Penguins LW
THE INJURIES
• Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is sidelined week-to-week with a lower-body injury. He is on long-term injured reserve and cannot return until Nov. 19 at the earliest.
• Defenseman John Ludvig is out indefinitely with a concussion sustained in his NHL debut. He has not placed on injured reserve, the Penguins don't need the additional roster spot that would come from IR right now.
• Defenseman Will Butcher is sidelined with an undisclosed injury sustained at the end of last season. He has resumed skating with a group in a non-contact capacity. He will be put on waivers to be sent down to Wilkes-Barre once healthy. He is on season-opening injured reserve, so his cap hit does not count.
• Forward Raivis Ansons is dealing with an upper-body injury sustained in the last month of the AHL season. He has resumed skating on his own. He will also be re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton once healthy and is also on season-opening injured reserve.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Reilly Smith - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell
Drew O'Connor - Lars Eller - Radim Zohorna
Matt Nieto - Noel Acciari - Vinnie Hinostroza
Ryan Graves - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Erik Karlsson
P.O Joseph - Chad Ruhwedel
And for David Quinn's Sharks:
Anthony Duclair - Tomas Hertl - Mike Hoffman
William Eklund - Mikael Granlund - Fabian Zetterlund
Filip Zadina - Nico Sturm - Luke Kunin
Givani Smith - Ryan Carpenter - Jacob McDonald
Mario Ferraro - Kyle Burroughs
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Nikolai Knyzhov
Nikita Okhotiuk - Jan Rutta
THE MULTIMEDIA
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins have an off day in Anaheim, Calif. on Sunday. They'll practice there on Monday afternoon in preparation for Tuesday's game against the Ducks.
THE CONTENT
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