The Penguins are set for a pair of back-to-back games against the Wild and Kraken. By points percentage the Pens are still third in the division and third in the conference but by total points they have fallen into a wild card spot making these two games of large importance. We will see Sam Poulin’s first shot an NHL role under Dan Muse this weekend and possibly Sergei Murashov’s last start with the big boys. Below I will give my five thoughts about the team and what to expect this weekend.
- The Pens have 11 more back to back’s and we have already seen them lose their legs in the second half of a back-to-back this season when they blew a third period lead against the LA Kings in Murashov’s first NHL start. The Penguins would be wise to come out firing tonight and give themselves a mental boost for the Kraken game tomorrow. Unfortunately, we have started to notice a trend with this team playing slow hockey after they get a few days off, see last Friday as a good example. Conventional thinking would have you believe that the rest would be good for all of the veteran bodies on this team, but Crosby has explained that he takes less off time in the summer than ever before because it takes him longer to fire the legs up. This explanation makes sense and even on a smaller scale than the offseason we have seen the vets have a tough go on nights when they haven’t played in a few games. Tonight, they cannot have a similar performance to the one that they did a week ago against Nashville. The December schedule is exceedingly difficult, and Minnesota is a team that you need to rack up points against.
- As alluded to in the opening, we will see Sam Poulin for the first time under head coach Dan Muse, and it looks like he will be playing wing on Kindel’s line. Poulin has shown NHL level skill and has certainly developed NHL level grit needed to stick as a third liner, but the skating has always been his downfall. Poulin is off to a great start with Wilkes this year and to be honest, I love deploying him with Kindel. I have been preaching that Kindel needs someone who can go into corners and win pucks, Poulin provides that to this line. I haven’t been a fan of the Novak-Kindel-Tomasino line due to all three having smaller frames and specifically Novak and Tomasino have been ousted from the Predators specifically due to being too perimeter and not willing to play along the walls. Novak has been better recently, but I think having someone like Poulin on this line could really help them break through and start scoring at 5 on 5, we just need to hope Poulin has added a little bit of foot speed.
- Sergei Murashov has the potential to put the Penguins into quite the situation. We will likely see the Russian netminder in the crease tomorrow night against Seattle and wouldn’t it be something if he plays exceptional for the third straight game? Jarry has practiced twice this week and will likely return after Thanksgiving. I understand that Sergei hasn’t played a ton of pro hockey and that carrying two rookie goaltenders isn’t ideal but it’s already getting to the point where he is forcing Dubas’ hand. Every guy in the room that gets asked about Murashov light up and immediately talk about how he’s a special talent, he’s done nothing but prove them all to be correct. I don’t think there’s a team in the league that is going to take Jarry right now, especially coming off an injury so Murashov will be sent back to WBS. However, if Jarry continues to show well at the NHL level you have to imagine a team like Edmonton would become more open to bringing him in especially if Dubas will eat some of the contract. While I find it more likely that Jarry is excommunicated from this team during the offseason if the Penguins make the playoffs, it’s hard to believe he is going to be the best option going into a series given what we have seen from him in big games both Silovs and Murashov have played exceptionally well when the lights are the brightest (yes, against lower competition). If Murashov continues to push, don’t let a bad contract get in the way.
- Noticed some comments on a recent blog about wanting Kevin Hayes in the lineup over Rutger McGroarty. Anyone who has genuinely had that feeling is beyond stupid. These people were also probably begrudging Sullivan for not playing the youth too. Luckily, they will likely get to see their boy Haysey play through at least Thanksgiving but make no mistake that Rutger is coming up. Also, for those dumb haters, if you actually paid any attention to this team, you would know Hayes isn’t getting removed from the lineup for McGroarty, Koppanen will be the odd man out. Hayes will likely keep his spot until Brazeau and Acciari are both available which at that point, the slow dinosaur that is Kevin Hayes will be benched or shipped to Vancouver. Sadly, I like Kevin Hayes and thought he did a pretty good job on Geno’s wing in Sweden but due to idiotic commentators I will have to wage war against his spot in this lineup for however long it may continue. McGroarty may not be the next Rantanen in terms of power forwards, but he is going to be a perfectly serviceable NHL player, if he can build out his frame a little bit he will begin to remind a lot of people of an old Penguins Swedish legend, Patric Hornqvist. Dubas on McGroarty’s first game back in action “I thought, you know, his movement, his mobility, his impact on the game of that, all of that was excellent.”
- Speaking on young Penguins, Dubas also recently alluded to the plan for Harrison Brunicke. Most people who are plugged into the team figured Brunicke would be playing with a different sweater on pretty soon and Dubas all but confirmed that. Seems likely that after this weekend, the Penguins will loan him to WBS for a conditioning stint where he can play in five games or spend a total of 14 days with the minor league team so they will send him there once it maximizes his potential to get all five games. After that conditioning stint is over, he will likely have a few days before the team will then loan him to Team Canada to play in the World Juniors. After the conclusion of that tournament, the Penguins will likely assess how he fared at both the Junior and AHL levels before deciding if he will rejoin the big club, if they decide he still needs some polishing they will loan him to Kamploos (his junior team) and assign him to WBS at the conclusion of their season in mid-March. Nevertheless, don’t expect to see Harrison in a Penguins jersey until 2026 (unless they slip him into the lineup once right before World Juniors starts).
The Pittsburgh Penguins through a fourth of this season have been a wonderful thing to watch. However, be on the lookout next week for my thoughts on the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York Rangers three teams that their fanbases are certainly not thankful for the way that they have played.
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