No NHL team’s ever 100% healthy, so envisioning such an effect, really, constitutes an epic waste of time.
But … mostly healthy?
As in, all players available, if not necessarily at full strength?
I’m here to cover the Penguins vs. the Lightning tonight at Benchmark International Arena — 7:08 p.m. faceoff — and I’m expecting it’ll represent a task that’s a ton taller than, oh, Jake Guentzel. Partly because the home team had taken seven in a row before losing Tuesday night. But moreso because the visitors will still be missing vital pieces of their mainstay lineup in Rickard Rakell, Justin Brazeau, Filip Hallander and Noel Acciari. Or, a line and a third of the forwards they’d deploy if everyone could go. Or, just enough to mess with Dan Muse’s line construction from top to bottom.
Which got me to thinking on the flight down here last night: If I really believe in that having a pronounced impact when facing a team tied for the top of the Eastern Conference, then, by logical extension, I’d also believe in this lineup as a whole. When it’s all there. Or largely there.
So let’s do that. Let’s look at the lineup if everyone shy of Hallander — out at least three months with a blood clot — were in play:
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson Ryan Shea-Kris Letang Ryan Graves-Connor Clifton
Tristan Jarry Sergei Murashov
Three footnotes before I proceed: One is that I really hate scratching Kevin Hayes, but he’s 33, he’s coming along from his shoulder injury but still not at his best. Another’s that I really hate scratching Boko Imama, and I’d be delighted if he could be used with some frequency, in much the same way he was the another night in Philadelphia against the annoying Flyers. Also, I’d heartily welcome an uprising from Owen Pickering at most anyone’s expense. Too much pedigree there. Need him to come through.
As for what’s up there?
I’m sorry, but as I’m typing this, that’s a pretty good hockey team. It’s got multiple leaps to go before projecting contention, now or into the near future, but I’m keeping this particular conversation to the present.
Why?
First and foremost, it’s because of the NHL’s No. 1 power play and the goaltending. I won’t separate them because I can’t. They’ve been equally important, from Madison Square Garden onward. They’ve outsized all reasonable exceptions and, to their considerable credit, they’ve done so in a manner that comes with confidence and consistency that both can continue. (At least if sanity prevails and Jarry’s seeing the bulk of the starts.)
But beyond that, glancing back up at those lines and pairings, there’s enough of a balance between scoring, defending and — gasp — physicality and toughness, doubly so when Imama’s dressed for one of those annoying opponents. It’s all there in terms of traits, if not at some elite level.
Which brings about the biggest of variables: This collective, to be all that it can without some external Kyle Dubas boost, needs to be … dare I say this? — the Garden variety.
I know, I know … but you know what I mean.
They need to revert to what they did on that opener and get in several other games, and that’s to swarm their opponents, to show persistence and patience but with an unmistakable aggression. Win the 50/50s along the walls. Control the vertical middle of the ice. Make the cleanest possible passes, particularly on the breakout. Continue to stick up for each other, to communicate, to grow.
Those are almost all intangible, of course, but imagine that’s what’d be the peak priority more than a quarter of the way through the schedule.
Pretty good.
PENGUINS
• Look at that. The season's not that young anymore. Sid's still up there.
• Anyone care for a compendium of all the printed preseason projections that the Penguins … not just that they’d be bad, not just that they’d be in prime lottery position, but also that they’d be outright tanking to increase their odds. With Sid on the roster.
• How about one of everyone urging/forecasting that Sid needed to get the hell out of Pittsburgh to salvage the rest of his career? Want one of those, too?
• Bet against Sid. Go ahead. See how that works out for the bankroll.
• Don’t ask me who I’d start in net tonight. Barring a schedule challenge, that answer won’t change until Murashov’s arrived.
• Muse deserves credit for creating that kid line of McGroarty, Kindel and Koivunen, but he’ll also deserve any roasting if he rips it apart too soon. It might become necessary. It also might be as big a boon to the franchise in 2025-26 — and beyond — as anything else that occurs.
• Brazeau and Acciari being on the trip is big-time encouraging. After a travel day to Dallas tomorrow, the Penguins will have a full practice Saturday at the Stars’ facility, then the game Sunday. That’s meaningful recovery/evaluation time.
• I’ll be at both teams’ morning skates today. I don’t often bother with the opponent, but I’ve been blessed multiple times in life to behold the Nikita Kucherov magic stickhandling spectacle he puts on at those, and I’m not about to miss this one.
• Thanks for checking out my hockey coverage. I mean that.
THE ASYLUM
DK: All that's needed now
No NHL team’s ever 100% healthy, so envisioning such an effect, really, constitutes an epic waste of time.
But … mostly healthy?
As in, all players available, if not necessarily at full strength?
I’m here to cover the Penguins vs. the Lightning tonight at Benchmark International Arena — 7:08 p.m. faceoff — and I’m expecting it’ll represent a task that’s a ton taller than, oh, Jake Guentzel. Partly because the home team had taken seven in a row before losing Tuesday night. But moreso because the visitors will still be missing vital pieces of their mainstay lineup in Rickard Rakell, Justin Brazeau, Filip Hallander and Noel Acciari. Or, a line and a third of the forwards they’d deploy if everyone could go. Or, just enough to mess with Dan Muse’s line construction from top to bottom.
Which got me to thinking on the flight down here last night: If I really believe in that having a pronounced impact when facing a team tied for the top of the Eastern Conference, then, by logical extension, I’d also believe in this lineup as a whole. When it’s all there. Or largely there.
So let’s do that. Let’s look at the lineup if everyone shy of Hallander — out at least three months with a blood clot — were in play:
Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Brazeau-Evgeni Malkin-Anthony Mantha
Rutger McGroarty-Ben Kindel-Ville Koivunen
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea-Kris Letang
Ryan Graves-Connor Clifton
Tristan Jarry
Sergei Murashov
Three footnotes before I proceed: One is that I really hate scratching Kevin Hayes, but he’s 33, he’s coming along from his shoulder injury but still not at his best. Another’s that I really hate scratching Boko Imama, and I’d be delighted if he could be used with some frequency, in much the same way he was the another night in Philadelphia against the annoying Flyers. Also, I’d heartily welcome an uprising from Owen Pickering at most anyone’s expense. Too much pedigree there. Need him to come through.
As for what’s up there?
I’m sorry, but as I’m typing this, that’s a pretty good hockey team. It’s got multiple leaps to go before projecting contention, now or into the near future, but I’m keeping this particular conversation to the present.
Why?
First and foremost, it’s because of the NHL’s No. 1 power play and the goaltending. I won’t separate them because I can’t. They’ve been equally important, from Madison Square Garden onward. They’ve outsized all reasonable exceptions and, to their considerable credit, they’ve done so in a manner that comes with confidence and consistency that both can continue. (At least if sanity prevails and Jarry’s seeing the bulk of the starts.)
But beyond that, glancing back up at those lines and pairings, there’s enough of a balance between scoring, defending and — gasp — physicality and toughness, doubly so when Imama’s dressed for one of those annoying opponents. It’s all there in terms of traits, if not at some elite level.
Which brings about the biggest of variables: This collective, to be all that it can without some external Kyle Dubas boost, needs to be … dare I say this? — the Garden variety.
I know, I know … but you know what I mean.
They need to revert to what they did on that opener and get in several other games, and that’s to swarm their opponents, to show persistence and patience but with an unmistakable aggression. Win the 50/50s along the walls. Control the vertical middle of the ice. Make the cleanest possible passes, particularly on the breakout. Continue to stick up for each other, to communicate, to grow.
Those are almost all intangible, of course, but imagine that’s what’d be the peak priority more than a quarter of the way through the schedule.
Pretty good.
PENGUINS
• Look at that. The season's not that young anymore. Sid's still up there.
• Anyone care for a compendium of all the printed preseason projections that the Penguins … not just that they’d be bad, not just that they’d be in prime lottery position, but also that they’d be outright tanking to increase their odds. With Sid on the roster.
• How about one of everyone urging/forecasting that Sid needed to get the hell out of Pittsburgh to salvage the rest of his career? Want one of those, too?
• Bet against Sid. Go ahead. See how that works out for the bankroll.
• Don’t ask me who I’d start in net tonight. Barring a schedule challenge, that answer won’t change until Murashov’s arrived.
• Muse deserves credit for creating that kid line of McGroarty, Kindel and Koivunen, but he’ll also deserve any roasting if he rips it apart too soon. It might become necessary. It also might be as big a boon to the franchise in 2025-26 — and beyond — as anything else that occurs.
• Brazeau and Acciari being on the trip is big-time encouraging. After a travel day to Dallas tomorrow, the Penguins will have a full practice Saturday at the Stars’ facility, then the game Sunday. That’s meaningful recovery/evaluation time.
• I’ll be at both teams’ morning skates today. I don’t often bother with the opponent, but I’ve been blessed multiple times in life to behold the Nikita Kucherov magic stickhandling spectacle he puts on at those, and I’m not about to miss this one.
• Thanks for checking out my hockey coverage. I mean that.
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