The Pittsburgh Penguins Have A (Good) Depth Issue

The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently sitting at 4-7-1 through their first 12 games of the season so far. Although they have a losing record, and the team’s defense and goaltending issues have plagued this team thus far, there is a good problem that the Penguins are going to be dealing with in the very near future.

Following a six game losing streak, the Penguins took a 2-1 overtime victory against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, in an effort to get back on the right track. Among that victory, was an interesting set of offensive lines that almost resembles the Penguins training camp lines.

The Penguins have a LOT of depth players playing well so far this season, and a lot of options waiting in the wings for their opportunity as well. With the salary cap, the battle for getting or keeping a spot on this roster is going to be a battle. The Penguins are still working on figuring out which line combinations will give them the most success for this season, with some interesting combinations being put out as of late. Perhaps the most interesting line change is forward Evgeni Malkin switching from second-line center to first-line left wing, playing alongside Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell. This line has looked very well since making its debut against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. Crosby has five points in his last two games, Malkin had six shots against the Ducks on Thursday, and Rickard Rakell has two goals in his last two games.

Now, this line does seem only temporary. The expectation is Malkin will go back to his normal spot on the second line when forward Bryan Rust returns from his lower-body injury.

However, that wasn’t the only thing to look out for. The amount of depth this team has, is good. Forwards Jesse Puljujarvi and Valtteri Puustinen have looked promising so far, even though they have been in and out of the lineup so far. Forward Michael Bunting has had a slow start to the season, but looked back in form against the Ducks. Forward Blake Lizotte made his debut on Thursday after missing the first 11 games of the season due to a concussion.

Some other players who should or will get a look in the future include Matt Nieto, who is now practicing fully with the team after recovering from knee surgery, and hasn’t played in almost a calendar year. Other players include Vasily Ponomarev, who was assigned to the AHL this week after being placed on non-roster IR before the season started; Rutger McGroarty, who started the season with the Penguins but was sent down after he failed to record a point in the first three games; Sam Poulin, who is off to a hot start in the AHL with seven points in seven games; and Ville Koivunen, who has six points in his first seven AHL games.

Nonetheless, having a depth problem like this can be a bad problem at times, but with how good the bottom six players look, and even the ones in the AHL look so far, the Penguins have multiple options to choose from if they want to make any more changes to the lineup.