Playing games without Sidney Crosby was always going to be difficult, we all knew that. Most people’s first inclination was that the team would struggle from an offensive standpoint. The game last night against Boston would have reaffirmed those feelings. However, despite playing the most “mid” hockey of the season, the Penguins still generated plenty of chances. They hit three posts, had three breakaways, and Karlsson got robbed by Swayman with just a few minutes left in regulation. So, the offense is still plenty capable without Sid, but you do feel like his presence last night would have at least got them to overtime. The bigger issue is in the faceoff dot. The Penguins have won roughly 1/3rd of the faceoffs since Sid exited the Olympic games, that just isn’t good enough. The best faceoff man on the roster right now is Ben Kindel, an 18-year-old rookie, he is sitting at 47% for the season. Not only is Sid their best player at the dot, but he is also their most used center in faceoff situations as he has taken nearly a third of all possible draws while he was healthy. It seems a little foolish to lock in on something so seemingly mundane, but faceoffs are an extremely important aspect of the game. Let’s dive in…

To begin with, the Penguins got hemmed in their own zone after a penalty kill for almost three minutes. This was entirely because of a lost faceoff; you concede possession when you lose a defensive draw.

Obviously, the reverse is losing faceoffs while on the power-play. You are almost immediately starting every power-play with 30 seconds gone because you have skate 200 feet and regroup, not great. This happened to the Penguins several times last night. It also makes 5-on-5 play more difficult as you are constantly regrouping in the neutral zone rather than winning an offensive zone draw and sustaining pressure. Last night the Bruins went into a heavy defensive shell. One way to get around that, other than winning battles on dumps, is to get (and win) offensive zone draws.

Finally, when you are down by one and have the goalie pulled you need to win faceoffs. The Penguins did win one draw in such a scenario, but it required Noel Acciari to be the centermen and while he’s been great this season, you don’t want him out on the ice in such a situation.

Kevin Hayes re-entered the lineup as Blake Lizotte is out day-to-day which further compounded the centermen issue. Kevin Hayes simply doesn’t have the legs anymore to be effective. Due to his ineffectiveness, and the Penguins being down in the game, both Hayes (Kevin) and Brazeau played under 10 minutes. The Penguins have won all year with a four-line approach, without Lizotte and Sid it severely hampers their ability to do so. It makes sense why their record is so bad without Lizotte and with Hayes in the lineup, they require every line to be competitive.

This all leads to Friday. The trade deadline. I’m sure the Penguins didn’t really see the need for a center a month ago, but injuries should have changed that conversation. The counter argument is that in a few weeks you’ll have too many centers, and Sid is playing the topline, I disagree. Michael McCarron, a 4th line winger, just got traded for a 2nd round pick. It almost seems like malpractice to not trade Mantha if these are the return rates. Mantha based on the McCarron trade is certainly worth a 1st round pick at the very least. Rakell is worth even more given his historical production, and contract. You could feasibly trade Mantha/Rakell, shift Novak to center, and acquire a legit center. Image lineup of the following:

Rakell-Crosby-Rust

Chinakhov- (Trochek/Thomas)- Malkin

Novak- Kindel- Brazeau

Dewer- Lizotte- Acciari

That is a championship contender for sure. Not only that, but it helps buy you time without Sid. Now I don’t mean to overreact to one game, but the faceoff issue has been omnipresent even in the 2-0-1 stretch right out of the break. The Penguins can, and will, win games without Sid but you want to maximize the amount of wins you get without him, bringing in a legit top 6 center will do just that.

Erik Karlsson was fantastic last night. He has been fantastic for almost every game of this season. The Penguins didn’t have their best effort against Boston, they rarely do, but Karlsson sure put on a show. He scored on the Penguins first shot and was simply everywhere in the offensive zone.

Outside of EK65, there wasn’t much to glazing to do for the Penguins. Malkin had his first bad game in a while, hopefully this is an aberration and not contract related. Chinakhov had his only bad game in a Penguins sweater, though he did get a breakaway and hit a post. One thing I have noticed about Egor is that when he is slightly off his game, he passes too much. When you have the best shot, I have ever seen, you should be mandated to use it whenever possible. Chinakhov has the shot of a 50-goal scorer, Dubas got him for a 2nd and 3rd pick. Despite the off night, still an insane trade.

The March schedule isn’t getting any easier, as the Pens play Buffalo on Thursday. I am a little sick of hearing about the schedule though. The Penguins have been a top 6 team, by points%, in the NHL for months. There is no such thing as a hard schedule for a team that is legit. They can play with, and beat, every single team in this league. Sure, without Sid maybe it’s a valid concern, but they did just dismantle the Vegas Golden Knights three days ago. It’s insane that with a month left in the season people are still doubting this team. One thing people aren’t doubting is Kyle Dubas who I am confident will be doing a few things to further improve his squad on Friday.