The Penguins are getting a huge boost today against the Jets with the return of Jordan Staal. He’s missed more than a month after a knee-to-knee hit with Mike Rupp and the Pens have missed his defensive help, but even more so, they’ve missed his offense (yea, we’re surprised too).
Staal has missed 20 games and he’s still third on the team with 15 goals behind Geno Malkin (29) and James Neal (28). If you hadn’t noticed over the past month, or if those goal totals don’t tell you enough, the Pens are still not getting the secondary scoring they need if they want to make a playoff run that lasts longer than seven games – trust me, that won’t happen if Geno Machino and Real Deal Neal continue to be the only ones lighting the lamp.
If Dan Bylsma utilizes the same lines he used in practice late in the week, we’ll see Staal center Matt Cooke and Pascal Dupuis on the Pens’ second line. Maybe just having Staal back in the lineup will lead to numbers other than 71 and 18 getting into the goal column, but if Bylsma uses chemistry to concoct different line combos, the experiment could payoff.
I’m not doubting Bylsma’s coaching ability for a second – he won a Jack Adams for a reason – but it looks like he’s using the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it theory” with his current lines. Well Dan, they are broke.
If the Pens were to use lines that feature pairs of skaters that they’re extremely comfortable with, maybe the secondary scoring would pick up. There’s not a chance that Geno and Neal split up – that’s a given – but two other buddy-system tandems that have proven successful are Staal and Chris Kunitz, and Steve Sullivan and Cal O’Reilly.
If you start from the bottom, there’s nothing wrong with the Pens fourth line. Joe Vitale is playing his best hockey of the year right now and he’s even over his last 11 games, not too shabby for a fourth-line center. Having Craig Adams and Richard Park flank him seems to be working for the most part and having all three on the fourth line keeps them ready for potential penalty kills.
Sully and O’Reilly should stick together on the third line as well. They played together in Nashville and seem to have picked up where they left off in the short amount of time O’Reilly’s been in the Burgh. Both these guys are set-up men, and that’s fine, as long as they’re on a line with someone who likes to shoot. And since Tyler Kennedy is out of the lineup, Dupuis is the next highest on the list with 151 shots this year. Seeing as how Dupuis is coming off his first goal in 18 games, he could probably use a change of scenery from the second line, and he might even benefit having two guys trying to set him up.
The top two lines is where most Pens fans will probably disagree with me but hear me out, Kunitz and Staal have always worked well together. Ever since Kunitz came over from Anaheim, the two just seem to click. Wouldn’t it be better for Staal to come back and get hot as soon as he returns to give him a little boost? Kunitz has played well on the top line with Geno and Neal but he’s not scoring, all he’s doing is forechecking like crazy and wreaking havoc; it’s definitely worked but someone else could do the same thing (we’ll get to that in a minute). To play the right side on the second line, I’d give Dustin Jeffrey a shot at the top six. We saw in the January game against the Habs that Jeffrey has a sick shot so if Staal can be the playmaker on this line and Kunitz can continue banging, there’s no reason this line can’t be a poor man’s version of Line 1.
And to fill the final spot along side Geno and Neal on Line 1? That’s right, Matt Cooke. Is he a first line talent? Not a chance, but he doesn’t have to be…at least not right now. Kunitz only had 11 points (2 G, 9 A) in his last 20 games with 71 and 18; like I said, he was there for the physical stuff, and that’s what Cooke does. Last year, Cooke even spent time on the second line with Geno to start the year and didn’t look completely out of place. All he really needs to do is bang some bodies and let Geno and Neal carry the workoad, and maybe he’ll even get a cheapie goal here and there.
Will Bylsma use these lines? Probably not. Would Pens fans be okay breaking up the Kunitz/Geno/Neal line? Probably not. But think about it, with another offensive weapon in Staal back on the ice, wouldn’t it finally be nice to see some secondary scoring? Hey, if the Pens use these lines and they don’t work, what’s the worst that’ll happen, Geno and Neal will be the only ones to score?
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