Kasperi Kapanen has been a major topic of conversation for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was signed to a two-year extension this summer despite coming off a career-worst season in 2021-22 and is struggling to find consistency during the early portion of this season.
Because of this, Kapanen was a healthy scratch for nine of the Penguins 14 games in November, including nine of the previous ten games before Tuesday night. Issues with the third line allowed Kapanen to get back into the lineup against the Carolina Hurricanes, and he took advantage of the opportunity.
While not showing up on the scoresheet, Kapanen provided extra juice for the Penguins worst forward line. He accounted for three shots on goal and three hits in just under 13 minutes of ice time and played with more urgency than he showed before being sent to the press box a few weeks ago.
The Penguins third line finished first on the team with 71% of the expected goals share when on the ice at 5v5. According to Natural Stat Trick, They also ranked second on the team in shot attempts (14) and scoring chances (8).
That line may not have been able to beat Pyotr Kochetkov, but if they continue to control the puck the way they did against the Hurricanes, the puck will start finding the back of the net sooner rather than later.
Kapanen didn't do anything phenomenal in his return to the lineup, but his play against the Hurricanes should earn him more opportunities moving forward.
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