The Penguins aren’t running away from Sidney Crosby’s slow start, but they aren’t ripping up the top line either.
Six games into the season, Crosby’s line is still very much the group the team is leaning on, even with the numbers sputtering. Crosby has only two assists, and he’s gone the last four games without a point.
That said, his play hasn’t been nearly as rough as the stat line suggests. He looked strong in the last game against Dallas, blocked three shots and even scored in the shootout.
He’s also put 13 shots on goal at 5v5, which tells you the chances are still there even if the rewards haven’t shown up yet.
The power play has been part of the problem too. Pittsburgh has gone 0-for-12 in its last four games, and Crosby’s lack of lift on the man advantage has played a role in that dry spell.
Rickard Rakell is in the same boat. He has no goals and two assists, just six 5v5 shots on goal, and he’s also been held without a point in the last four games.
That’s a major departure from the last two seasons, when he scored 59 total goals and was one of the more dangerous players on the ice. So far this year, he’s been pedestrian.
When Crosby and Rakell have been on the ice at full strength, the goal total sits at 5-5. Without them, it’s 10-6.
That’s a mixed bag for Pittsburgh: encouraging that the rest of the roster has contributed, but also a reminder that the Penguins are going to have a hard time if their top line isn’t driving offense. That has been the story over the last five games, a 2-2-1 stretch since the opening-night blowout win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
For the moment, the Penguins are sticking with what they know. Nick Richardson skated with Crosby and Rakell to start, and Bryan Rust slid into that familiar spot after he came back from injury. That trio remained intact at Monday’s practice in Pittsburgh, with the team headed for a difficult road trip out west.
Dan Muse said last week that the winger assignments for Crosby would be handled on a game-to-game basis depending on what gave the team the best chance. Even so, Pittsburgh keeps circling back to familiarity.
Egor Chinakhov got a look with Crosby at the end of last season, but he hasn’t opened this season well, with no goals in his last five games and no points in the last four. Robertson brought energy, but he was removed after losing a puck battle in the defensive zone that led directly to a goal against.
Any time Crosby goes quiet, the reaction comes fast and loud. That’s part of the package when you’ve spent 21 seasons scoring above a point per game. Still, this start has been off track, and over the first few weeks he has looked every bit of 39 years old, without quite the same sharpness, skating or creativity that has defined so much of his career.
That’s what makes this road trip worth watching. Can the first line find its best version?
Can Crosby settle in and start influencing games more consistently again? The power play needs to improve, and Crosby’s work on it is a big piece of that.
The larger question is whether this is just a slow start or something more troubling.
There’s also the reality of seeing an all-time great in the winter of his career. Crosby came into the season with 417 career games in which he didn’t record a point, compared with 517 multi-point games. So even a short stretch without much production stands out in a way it wouldn’t for almost anyone else.
For now, the Penguins are choosing chemistry over experimentation. Rakell and Rust are the trusted names on Crosby’s wings, and there’s logic to keeping that group together. The next decision is how long Pittsburgh waits before it feels the need to shake things up.
In Other News...
Penguins Let Another Winnable Game Slip Away In Chicago
Sidney Crosby did his part in Chicago, scoring twice to keep the Penguins in the game, but it still wasnt enough to prevent a 5-3 loss to the Blackhawks at the United Center. Roman Kansterov matched that with a two-goal night for Chicago, and the teams traded blows in a game that kept feeling there for the taking before slipping just out of Pittsburghs reach.
The latest missed chance adds to the familiar frustration of a winnable night getting away, especially once the third period tilted and Chicago found the separating goal. Pittsburgh was left to sort through another result that had enough encouraging individual moments to feel close, but not enough finishing or late-game execution to turn Crosbys production into points. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Prospects Are Starting To Separate Themselves Fast
The Penguins prospect pipeline is getting a lot easier to sort through early in the season, and that is a good sign for an organization that needs young players to start pushing the conversation. Across the AHL, NCAA and WHL, several of Pittsburghs better-known prospects are showing why they remain part of the long-term picture, with production and consistency beginning to separate the top names from the rest of the group.
Bill Zonnon and Joel Blomqvist are two of the clearest examples of that trend. Zonnon has jumped out quickly in the AHL, while Blomqvists play has given Pittsburgh another reason to watch the goaltending depth chart closely. With roster spots never handed out lightly and organizational depth still a real issue, the next stretch matters for every prospect trying to turn a strong start into an NHL opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Open Road Trip With A Dahlin Problem Ruff Must Solve
Roster moves and injury updates kept trickling across the NHL on Tuesday, and the Penguins had a notable one of their own mixed into the league-wide shuffle. Pittsburgh placed defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk on injured reserve, another reminder that early-season depth is already being tested while teams try to settle in.
Justin Brazeau also remains part of the conversation around the Penguins, though his situation still has him skating on his own and not traveling with the team. For a club that is trying to keep its blue line and lineup options intact, those kinds of absences can pile up quickly, and the coming days should give a better read on how soon that depth might start to return. [Read more 🡒]