Penguins Implement Major Lineup Change After Horrible Start to Season
The two biggest players on the team were part of a significant forward line shuffle for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday.
Early in the season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have lost five straight games and have fallen to the bottom of the National Hockey League's Metropolitan Division standings. The team's lineup appeared to undergo some significant changes on Monday, as the Philadelphia Flyers, their intrastate rivals, are currently ranked lower in the Metro.
Both Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby were on the team's starting lineup on Monday. Head coach Mike Sullivan moved Malkin from the second line's center position to Crosby's wing. Now, to be fair, this might be the result of Bryan Rust, a forward, missing practice because of an injury, but it could also be Sullivan's desperate attempt to revive his faltering team.
Bryan Rust was the only player missing Saturday's 4-3 loss to Vancouver due to a lower-body injury. Canucks forward Nils Hoglander angled the star winger into the boards, causing him to jump off the ice and require assistance down the runway. He didn't come back to play.
The Penguins welcomed a couple of fresh faces to the team for the first time this season.
Blake Lizotte, who played for Los Angeles for the first five or more seasons of his career before signing a two-year contract in free agency, took part in a no-contact fashion. He had been hit by a puck while sitting on the bench during the Hockeyville preseason game, resulting in a concussion.
After having successful reconstructive MCL surgery on his left knee on May 2, Matt Nieto was fully functional. The 31-year-old, who also signed a two-year contract in the 2023 offseason, has had a long journey to get here. On November 22, 2023, almost a year ago, he played his last game.
The coaching staff chose to line up Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin during rushes because the Penguins are 3-6-1 on the season and only managed one point during their four-game road trip to Canada.
In addition to losing five straight games, the Penguins have a -13 goal differential through their first ten games of the season. If they hope to have any chance of making the playoffs this year, they will need to change that.
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| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 28 | 58 ANSWERS Penguins Implement Major Lineup Change After Horrible Start to Season Will this lineup change make a difference for the Penguins? | ||
| Yes | 28 | 48.3 % |
| No | 30 | 51.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
