Grading the Penguins after a quarter of the season
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has a phrase he’s fond of when discussing the composition of his team.
“It’s hard to win (the) Stanley Cup with just 12 forwards and six defensemen and two goalies. It takes a whole lot more than that.”
So far this season through 21 games, in order to win just 10 games, they’ve required 15 forwards, nine defensemen and two goaltenders.
With the Penguins just past the quarter mark of their 2021-22 season, how have those players performed?
Here’s a player-by-player look at everyone on the current roster. Evgeni Malkin is omitted because he has yet to play as he recovers from offseason knee surgery.
Forwards
Zach Aston-Reese, LW
Stats: 19 games, six points (one goal, five assists)
Grade: B+
Why: Hobbled early in the season following a bout with covid-19, Aston-Reese has rebounded fairly well and has been a vital component to the Penguins’ stout “shutdown” line along with Teddy Blueger and Brock McGinn. He could stand to be more consistent as an offensive producer but his defense has been steady as ever.
Teddy Blueger, C
Stats: 21 games, nine points (five goals, four assists)
Grade: A-
Why: As fundamentally sound of a player as you’ll find in the NHL, few members of the team are trusted more than Blueger, particularly in vital defensive assignments. While Blueger’s overall faceoffs numbers are improved, he still tends to lose some big draws in his own zone. Offensively, Blueger is set to establish career highs this season.
Brian Boyle, C
Stats: 16 games, two points (two goals, zero assists)
Grade: C
Why: Considering he came to training camp on a tryout basis without the guarantee of a contract, Boyle had low expectations entering this season and he has exceeded them. A healthy scratch recently for five games, Boyle is an adequate reserve forward who has contributed to the team’s league-best penalty kill.
Jeff Carter, C
Stats: 18 games, 11 points (five goals, six assists)
Grade: B
Why: Perhaps no other member of the team had a more daunting assignment entering this season than Carter, who was expected to soften the blow of injured franchise centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Carter has largely done that within the limits his 37-year-old body will allow.
Sidney Crosby, C
Stats: Nine games, six points (two goals, four assists)
Grade: D+
Why: It might be unfair to levy such a harsh grade to Crosby given his various maladies (offseason wrist surgery and covid-19), but the expectations of him are exceedingly high, and for good reason. In the time he has been on the ice, he has largely looked no better than adequate. The Penguins need him to regain the form that has made him a superstar.
Jake Guentzel, LW
Stats: 20 games, 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists)
Grade: B-
Why: Guentzel is the team’s leading scorer this season, but he has been streaky. A bout with covid-19 stunted his play early on, but he has heated up as of late and even matched a career-best five-game goal-scoring streak recently.
Danton Heinen, LW
Stats: 21 games, nine points (six goals, three assists)
Grade: A-
Why: With so many incumbents absent this season, Heinen has shown to be invaluable through his versatility. And he’s taken full advantage of those opportunities as evidenced by his steady production.
Kasperi Kapanen, RW
Stats: 21 games, 14 points (five goals, nine assists)
Grade: D+
Why: By Kapanen’s own admission, his effort has not always been there this season. Given the absence of Crosby, Malkin and others, the Penguins have needed much more than Kapanen has provided them thus far.
Sam Lafferty, RW
Stats: Five games, one point (zero goals, one assist)
Grade: D
Why: There aren’t many expectations on Lafferty. After all, he’s a reserve forward. But he’s done relatively little to maximize the scant opportunities he’s been afforded this season.
Brock McGinn, LW
Stats: 21 games, nine points (five goals, four assists)
Grade: A-
Why: While he isn’t as exuberant as his predecessor, McGinn has aptly replaced Brandon Tanev on the team’s “shutdown” line through his blend of skating, tenacity and abrasiveness. Additionally, he’s been a vital component to the team’s brilliant penalty kill.
Drew O’Connor, LW
Stats: 12 games, five points (three goals, two assists)
Grade: B-
Why: Perhaps no member of the team has improved more from last season than O’Connor, who looks much more comfortable with the rigors of the professional game. Consistency has proven to be an issue, but O’Connor’s improved confidence as an NHLer has been quite evident.
Evan Rodrigues, C
Stats: 21 games, 15 points (eight goals, seven assists)
Grade: A+
Why: Rodrigues has always been valuable to the Penguins just because he could play every forward position. But he’s amplified that attribute to an entirely different degree this season by boosting his offensive production to a level worthy of being a steady top-six forward.
Bryan Rust, RW
Stats: 12 games, nine points (two goals, seven assists)
Grade: C
Why: Rust’s season has been pockmarked by various injuries that have sidelined him for nine games. When he has been healthy, he hasn’t produced at a sufficient level. He’s still reliable in most other aspects of the game, but the Penguins need more than what Rust has offered thus far.
Dominik Simon, LW
Stats: 15 games, four points (one goal, three assists)
Grade: C-
Why: Primarily relegated to a bottom-six role this season, Simon has shown flashes of occasional offensive brilliance but not nearly enough to merit a steady spot in the lineup. He’s a perfectly adequate reserve.
Jason Zucker, LW
Stats: 21 games, nine points (four goals, five assists)
Grade: C+
Why: Zucker plays hard every game and will grind through injuries that might sideline plenty of other players. That’s admirable, but his offense has largely been inadequate over the past two seasons. There are few signs that will change anytime soon.
Defensemen
Brian Dumoulin
Stats: 16 games, two points (zero goals, two assists)
Grade: C-
Why: Dumoulin has been inconsistent ever since he returned to the lineup following a bout with covid-19 in November. His track record should afford him the benefit of the doubt that he’ll shake off any lingering effects with time.
Mark Friedman
Stats: 11 games, 4 points (0 goals, 4 assists)
Grade: C
Why: Friedman has a pretty good set of skates and can move up and down the ice with ease. There’s plenty to be intrigued about in his skillset, but something is just missing when he does get on the ice. Capable of playing either side, he’s perfectly adequate as a reserve, however.
Kris Letang
Stats: 17 games, 11 points (1 goal, 10 assists)
Grade: A-
Why: With the exception of goaltender Tristan Jarry, Letang has been the team’s most valuable player. Even after dealing with covid-19, he has been a reliable presence on the blue line and has been an anchor for a team missing so many of its veteran leaders.
John Marino
Stats: 21 games, nine points (one goal, eight assists)
Grade: D-
Why: Marino has perhaps been the team’s most disappointing player this season. Judgment errors that could be excused as a rookie continue to persist during his third professional season.
Mike Matheson
Stats: 18 games, seven points (one goal, six assists)
Grade: C
Why: Preseason designs for Matheson and Marino to open the season together went by the wayside after Matheson suffered a preseason injury. Since then, he has primarily been deployed on the third pairing and has mostly been quiet.
Marcus Pettersson
Stats: 17 games, five points (one goal, four assists)
Grade: B+
Why: Perhaps no other member of the Penguins’ blue line has improved more from last season than Pettersson. The errors that muddled his 2020-21 campaign have largely been absent this season. Were it not for a bout with covid-19, he might have graded higher.
Chad Ruhwedel
Stats: 17 games, one point (zero goals, one assist)
Grade: B
Why: Ruhwedel is a regular in the lineup for the first time in his career, and he has responded by offering a steady but unspectacular presence in the lineup. There have been few times he has been noticed this season, either in a positive or negative sense.
Goaltenders
Casey DeSmith
Stats: Four games, 0-3-1 record, 4.33 goals against average, .867 save percentage, zero shutouts
Grade: F
Why: DeSmith has largely struggled during his scant appearances this season. The base requirement of any goaltender is to give their team a chance to win. DeSmith has rarely offered that in 2021-22.
Tristan Jarry
Stats: 17 games, 10-4-3 record, 1.91 goals against average, .936 save percentage, three shutouts
Grade: A
Why: No player on the roster faced more questions entering this season than Jarry. And he has answered every one of them. The specter of his postseason malfunctions will always linger, but he’s regained quite a bit of confidence, for himself and others, with an outstanding start to the 2021-22 campaign. His only minus this season is a struggle with shootouts.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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