Penguins

Malkin-Crosby Brilliance Puts Dubas on the Spot; Will He Respond This Time?

Published

1 month ago

November 1, 2024

Pittsburgh Penguins trade talk. Will Kyle Dubas support Sidney Crosby?

Paging general manager Kyle Dubas. A Penguins trade is probably necessary if the goal is to win.

The Pittsburgh Penguins eventually pummeled the road-weary Anaheim Ducks into submission Thursday. Yet the Penguins’ 46-shot barrage wasn’t complete until Sidney Crosby pulled a heel-toe stop-start breakaway move in overtime to end the six-game winless streak.

Full credit where it’s due: Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has been making changes—and more changes. Some are working, and as you may expect, some are not. Sullivan’s most significant change has been sidestepping caution and balance by putting his three best players on a line together. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Rickard Rakell.

The line is increasingly brilliant as Malkin adapts to the left-wing position change and Rakell figures his place in the superstars’ universe. The statistics were nothing short of eye-popping and game-winning Thursday. The trio created 35 shot attempts, 21 shots on goal (the rest of the team had 25), 17 scoring chances, and eight high-danger cracks at the Ducks. The output was essentially 50% of the overall team output, and Crosby scored both Penguins goals following Rakell’s two-goal game against Minnesota on Tuesday.

All stats are according to NaturalStatTrick.com.

The move to unite Crosby and Malkin broomed aside the balanced and structured lineups that Sullivan sought to create in his previous nine seasons. It was an all-in move under the pressure of a season quickly slipping away as wins scooted past like rushers against the Penguins’ defensemen and losses accumulated like pucks in the Penguins’ net.

There was a bit of consternation over Crosby’s start to the season. Just one goal? Below a point per game? Look at the difference when Crosby is playing with an elite winger:

**Crosby with Malkin: 63% Corsi. 65% Shots For. 83% Goals For (5-1). 60% Expected Goals. 54% Scoring Chances. 53% High Danger Scoring Chances.

**Crosby WITHOUT Malkin: 48% Corsi. 45% Shots For. 28% Goals For (4-10). 45.5% Expected Goals For. 44% Scoring Chances. 41% High Danger Scoring chances.

Golly gee whiz, Mr. Wilson. It’s almost like having a great player on Crosby’s left matters.

Good luck to Sullivan if he considers separating the pair. They must be having a blast together. The rest of the team? Not so much. Without Crosby or Malkin on the ice, the Penguins have been outscored 18-9 despite garnering 57% of the scoring chances.

Let that one sink in. The rest of the Penguins lineup has indeed outplayed or at least out-chanced their opponents, but they have been crushed in the most important stat: Goals Scored.

Paging Kyle Dubas, clean up in Aisle 7.

The Penguins’ trade acquisitions and lineup contain some talent. From Cody Glass to Kevin Hayes and Anthony Beauvillier, there is some potential for offense. However, there’s not enough—not nearly enough.

Now, here is where theory and reality collide. Dubas firmly stated at the draft in June that his job and perspective would differ from those of the players and coaches who are trying to win. Dubas said his job is to look at the team from the 30,000-foot level and make decisions that return them to long-term viability and Stanley Cup contenders, not chase short-term fixes simply to get the team into the playoffs.

That makes sense. Dubas basically left the team on their own last season, not acquiring help or making changes when they desperately needed it. The Penguins’ play last season practically screamed for a shakeup, but Dubas conceded there wasn’t an available trade that he liked.

That’s odd because he surely couldn’t have liked his own team very much, either. But I digress.

The pairing of Malkin and Crosby was foretold by at least one of us (*ahem) over the summer. Back then, several centers on the market could have filled the open second-line center spot in the Penguins lineup, creating a much better team.

Those free agent opportunities are gone, and now a trade is the only option if Dubas wants to improve.

Despite our affinity for Lars Eller’s game and intensity, he’s not a second-line center; that’s asking far too much of him and Drew O’Connor. Both are good players, and O’Connor can slot in as a top-six winger, but more so in a support role, not in a primary role responsible for offensive production.

In fact, without a second-line center, the rest of the Penguins lineup is playing one, if not two, stations ahead of their optimal spot. The cascading fallout is the Penguins have one line capable but also entirely responsible for the team’s offensive production.

That’s bad news against good teams with enough defensive structure or desire to blanket the top line.

So, what will Dubas do?

Will he leave the current roster to languish, seeing how ineffective, unsuccessful, and outright bad they were when Crosby and Malkin were trying to carry the team as the No. 1 and 2 centers?

Or will he step to the plate and make an in-season acquisition for the first time as Penguins GM?

No, top prospect Rutger McGroarty isn’t ready yet. He has just one assist in five AHL games after going scoreless in three NHL games.

No, the potential top-six winger of the future, Villie Koivunen, isn’t ready yet, either. That turkey was just put into the oven, and it will take hours to cook before it is ready.

Michael Bunting’s steep fall from grace this season has further complicated the Penguins’ lineup issues. He had a pretty good game Thursday; it was his first noticeable showing of the campaign. His re-emergence would go a long way toward a balanced lineup, but nothing—NOTHING—will come close to being as good as Malkin-Crosby together.

So, Dubas is again front and center. Will he address the team’s glaring need, or will he leave them to their own devices as he did last season, unhappy but ultimately content to let them lose?

Sullivan has stepped to the fore and made every change possible in an effort to reverse the losing trend.