By Mark Madden
November 2, 2017
Phil Kessel #81 of the Pittsburg Penguins keeps his eye on the puck against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on November 2, 2017 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images)
Forward lines used to have colorful nicknames.
“The Production Line” – Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Sid Abel, Detroit circa 1947-52; “The Punch Line” – Rocket Richard, Elmer Lach and Toe Blake, Montreal circa 1943-48; “The French Connection” – Gilbert Perreault, Richard Martin and Rene Robert, Buffalo circa 1972-79; “The Legion of Doom” – Eric Lindros, John LeClair and Mikael Renberg, Philadelphia circa 1995-97.
But in today’s NHL, lines don’t stay together long enough to get a nickname.
Some coaches use two-man combinations on a relatively steady basis, rotating the line’s third member. On most teams, that’s the extent of continuity.
The Penguins haven’t even had that lately. The preferred two-man combos have been Sidney Crosby-Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin-Phil Kessel.
But even those have been torn asunder as coach Mike Sullivan tries to finagle his team into playing as well as its record, and preferably better.
It’s not hard to realize what Sullivan is endeavoring.
Sullivan likes to equally divide up whatever physical presence the Penguins have among the lines.
The departure of Chris Kunitz to Tampa Bay via free agency is a significant loss in that department. But Patric Hornqvist goes here, Tom Kuhnhackl goes there, Ryan Reaves goes somewhere else.
Kuhnhackl certainly figured it out. He had eight hits while skating on Malkin’s left wing Wednesday at Edmonton.
Sullivan also uses certain players to trigger linemates to adjust their play.
Crosby doesn’t like playing with Hornqvist. Nothing personal. Crosby just prefers faster wings.
But when Hornqvist is on Crosby’s line, Crosby’s game turns simpler and he plays down low more.
When Malkin skates with Kessel, each defers to the other too much. But when each perceives himself as his line’s best player, their shots go up.
Or at least they should. Kessel played right wing on a line with Riley Sheahan and Guentzel Wednesday and didn’t get one shot on target.
Kessel is a curious study. He has just four goals in 14 games after netting only 23 in 82 games last season. Kessel is hardly the sharpshooting, goal-scoring machine that GM Jim Rutherford had to figure the Penguins were getting when he acquired Kessel from Toronto on July 1, 2015.
Kessel is instead a playmaker, and a good one.
Before last night’s game at Calgary, Kessel led the Penguins with 11 assists, tying him for seventh in the NHL. His 15 points topped the Penguins and tied him for sixth in the league.
Kessel had eight power-play assists, making him the de facto quarterback of the NHL’s No. 2 man-advantage unit (29.6 percent conversion rate). The power play flows through Kessel at the left half-wall.
Those aren’t the statistics expected from Kessel. But his contributions are big.
Kessel does lead the Penguins with 56 shots on goal. So he’s not missing that part of his game.
No Penguin is exactly torching the stat sheet. Malkin ranked 14th among NHL scorers before Thursday night’s games, Crosby 32nd.
But if any forward is in a bit of a funk, it’s Guentzel.
After scoring 50 goals over the entirety of his rookie pro campaign last season, Guentzel had three goals and four assists in his first 14 games.
Before facing Calgary, Guentzel had one goal and one assist in his previous nine games. Guentzel had zero shots and three minor penalties at Edmonton.
No need to panic. Guentzel, 23, may well be worn down by the rigors of having played 98 games in 2016-17. When he gets a second wind and is reunited on a line with Crosby – which will inevitably happen – Guentzel will be fine.
Conor Sheary, meanwhile, is tied for the team lead in goals with six.
The Penguins’ glut of skilled forwards – with Daniel Sprong and Zach Aston-Reese lurking at the team’s minor-league affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton – has Sheary the subject of trade speculation.
But Sheary can score. He had 23 goals in 61 games last season. He’s a comfortable fit with Crosby. That latter fact may keep Sheary around.
Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).
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