As the Penguins drift toward the one-sixth mark of the season, the picture is getting harder to ignore: a 5-6-2 record, a spot in the lower reaches of the Metropolitan Division, and just 12 points from a possible 26. Even more troubling, they’ve managed only two regulation wins, with just one coming since opening night. That total ties them with the Kings for the second-lowest mark in the league, and leaves them one behind the Flyers.
That backdrop makes the lineup decisions from coach Dan Muse and his staff look even more puzzling, especially after what the summer brought from POHO/GM Kyle Dubas. The roster is crowded up front, and that congestion has forced some players into awkward roles or out of the lineup altogether. Still, a few choices have been difficult to understand.
Nick Robertson on the fourth line is the biggest head-scratcher. He’s young, quick, relentless, and has real finishing ability.
In other words, he looks an awful lot like Bryan Rust. That makes Robertson seem like a natural fit alongside Sidney Crosby, especially with Crosby’s production having lagged since before last season’s Olympic break - five goals in his last 31 regular-season games.
Robertson has already shown he can work next to Crosby, but after one mistake that helped cost the team a game, he was bumped down to the fourth line. That’s a harsh sentence for a player who still shares the club lead in goals with Evgeni Malkin at six and owns the team’s best plus-minus at plus-8.
The case for moving him back to Crosby’s wing seems pretty straightforward.
Andrei Kuzmenko is another situation that has gone sideways. Given the unspeakable tragedy he recently endured, there’s no reason to be glib about it.
But the production simply isn’t there: one assist in nine games and a minus-4. He also doesn’t look like much of a scoring threat, and he isn’t bringing enough in other areas to compensate.
He’s supposed to be a goal scorer, but the goals haven’t come. The signing never really made sense in the first place, and the thinking appears to have been that he could hold down a spot until the younger players were ready while helping replace some of the offense lost with Anthony Mantha’s departure.
Even with that context, the situation doesn’t seem to be working. At this point, the argument is for sitting or waiving Kuzmenko and giving one of the kids a shot.
Then there’s Sergei Murashov, who has already taken his lumps. His last couple of outings were rough, with nine goals allowed on 38 shots for an ugly .763 save percentage, so a brief reset made sense.
But four games away from action feels excessive. It brings to mind l’affaire Harrison Brunicke last season, when the Penguins parked the then-19-year-old defender after a stretch of difficult games, a move that didn’t do much for his development.
Murashov needs to be playing somewhere, whether that’s here or in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
All of that feeds into the larger question hanging over the team: what exactly is the plan? Is the priority making the playoffs, or developing the young players?
It’s hard to tell. Dubas clearly wants the kids to earn their way, but they still need a fair chance to do it.
Avery Hayes is the latest example. He was sent back to the Baby Pens after what by all accounts was a strong season debut, and that raises the obvious question of what the reward is for performing well.
Right now, the Penguins look like a team stuck between lanes, not committed to one direction or the other. Rebuilds - even the on-the-fly kind - are messy.
But eventually a choice has to be made. This group isn’t winning a Stanley Cup, and it doesn’t look close to contending for one.
So why not make the kids the priority?
In Other News...
Penguins Defensive Meltdowns Wasted Another Crosby-Led Comeback Push
The Penguins got another lift from Sidney Crosby and another reminder that the comeback effort alone is not enough when the defensive structure wobbles. In Montreal, Pittsburgh fell 5-4 to the Canadiens at the Bell Centre, a game that again turned on how quickly the Penguins could recover after giving away momentum and how little margin they had once the Canadiens found their rhythm.
Sergei Murashov was back in net for his first start since Oct. 17, and the night did not deliver the reset the Penguins were hoping for. Dan Muse did win a goaltender interference challenge along the way, but the result still left Pittsburgh searching for answers around its crease and left Murashov still without a victory this season as the losses keep piling up in tight games. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Loss Just Raised Bigger Questions About Where This Team Is Headed
The loss to the Canadiens left the Penguins with more than just another result to digest. It added weight to a stretch that has already been marked by uneven play, a coaching change in Dan Muse, and a roster that still has to answer basic questions about consistency. Even with Tristan Jarry coming off consecutive shutouts, the broader picture around Pittsburgh has not gotten any clearer, especially with trade chatter continuing to swirl around established names and the organization trying to sort out what comes next.
Muse now has a team that needs a reset as much as a response, and the next few days could tell a lot about how he plans to handle it. Lineup changes are on the table after the Montreal game, and the tone around the club has shifted from short-term fixes to something more fundamental about direction. For a Penguins team that has lived through plenty of eras already, the latest setback only sharpened the bigger question hanging over the season. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Just Created A New Opening For Rutger McGroarty
Rutger McGroarty is back with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for now, and the move gives the Penguins a little more breathing room as they sort through the early part of their roster. Since making his NHL debut in the 2024-25 season, the young forward has already gotten into 34 games with Pittsburgh, scoring four goals and nine points, while also showing in the AHL that he can drive offense and hold his own over longer stretches.
For the Penguins, the assignment is less about closing the book on McGroarty than keeping him in the mix. He has been productive in the minors across two seasons, and his development remains one of the more interesting subplots on the roster. The open spot in Pittsburgh adds another layer to watch as the team continues to manage its forward group and decide when the next opportunity should come. [Read more 🡒]