Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen admits his work ethic 'has to get better'

While so many of his teammates have been in and out of the lineup because of injuries or covid-19 concerns, forward Kasperi Kapanen arguably has been the Pittsburgh Penguins’ most consistent player this season.

That’s to say he routinely has appeared to be of little threat to score.

Through the first eight games, Kapanen has a goose egg in the goals column (as well as four assists). That futility exists despite Kapanen being a steady presence among the team’s top-two lines as well as the first power-play unit.

Kapanen was frank when discussing his lack of production Wednesday.

“It’s been a lot of ups and downs,” Kapanen said. “There have been some good games and some not-so-good games. I really don’t know what else to tell you right now. It’s just not bouncing for me. My work ethic and other stuff away from the puck has to get better for me to get more chances and hopefully, eventually, it will bounce in. I’ve just got to keep going to the net. Maybe it will go off my skate or something. Tough times right now. But there’s still plenty of hockey left.”

Penguins coaches appeared ready to demote Kapanen on Monday when he was lined up on the fourth line. But most of the lines were shuffled to some degree during practice Wednesday in the wake of top center Sidney Crosby being placed into isolation after testing positive for covid-19. Those alterations included Kapanen being returned to the second line.

Regardless of where he is in the lineup, he realizes he needs to look for more opportunities in areas closer to the net.

“You want to shoot as many times as you can from (the slot),” Kapanen said. “It feels like I’ve been kind of on the outside. I’ve been shooting from the outside and have been hitting posts and just barely missing the net. It’s something I’ve got to focus on. Watch video and practice that after the skates. Just talk to my linemates and just try to figure it out.”

Dating back to last season, coach Mike Sullivan hasn’t been afraid to have some tough talks with Kapanen, even when the mercurial winger was producing.

That dynamic certainly hasn’t abated with Kapanen’s subpar start to this season.

“Right now, I think it’s just been more me trying to get back to my game,” Kapanen said. “I’ve kind of gotten away from that a little bit right now. He’s been hard on me this year and he’s (publicly said) that. It’s only because he wants to bring the best out of me. I haven’t been doing that nearly enough at the beginning of this year. But … there’s plenty of hockey left.”

Note: Defenseman Kris Letang was officially added to the Penguins’ active roster. He was previously on the NHL’s list for covid-19 protocol.

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