Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen looks for confidence along with offense
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen entered Thursday’s home game against the New Jersey Devils at PPG Paints Arena on an 11-game streak without a point, the worst such sequence of futility in his seven-year career.
The 25-year-old opened Thursday’s contest on the Penguins’ third line with Evan Rodrigues at center and Brock McGinn at left wing. It marked the third consecutive game Kapanen was deployed primarily on the third line after being demoted from the second line.
Despite such a squalid streak for Kapanen, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan professed optimism the talented but inconsistent winger will begin to find production if he stays with the process.
“(Kapanen is) a guy, he cares an awful lot about his own game and he cares about the Penguins,” Sullivan said. “You can probably imagine where he is at as far as his own personal headspace. These guys are great athletes and they care a lot. They pride themselves on what they do. But they’re also human beings and when things don’t go the right way, they go through ups and downs with respect to their self-confidence, just like every other person in the world.”
Before Thursday, Kapanen had scored 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 51 games this season.
“We’re just trying to help him through the process. Just trying to get him to simplify his game, shoot the puck more, go to the net. Take some of the thinking out of it and maybe take (away) some of just the mindset of worrying about scoring and just focusing on playing the game the right way.
“If you can take the focus off of trying to score goals and just immerse yourself in playing the game the right way and the details and what your job is in certain situations, the byproduct is that he’ll get opportunities and he’ll score because he’s a talented guy.
“We’re trying to help him through the process. He’s a really good player. We’ve got a lot of faith in (Kapanen) and his overall game. We’re just trying to help him through this process right now. I’m sure you can imagine his confidence certainly isn’t at an all-time high right now.”
O’Connor, Zohorna get playing time
On Monday, the Penguins assigned rookie forwards Drew O’Connor and Radim Zohorna to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL then recalled rookie Kasper Bjorkqvist from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton by Tuesday.
The reasons for flipping those players were twofold.
First, Bjorkqvist has played well enough in the eyes of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coaches to merit a recall.
Second, O’Connor and Zohorna needed some playing time. Before the assignment, O’Connor had not played at all since reportedly suffering a collapsed lung on Jan. 15, and Zohorna had been a healthy scratch for four consecutive games.
Each were in the lineup for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton during games Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We’re trying to manage the group that we have,” Sullivan said. “We’re also trying to keep them all playing. That’s an important aspect of it.
“A guy like Drew O’Connor, for example, has been off for an extended period of time. We felt it was important that he gets in some games. The same with (forward Radim Zohorna). It’s important that he gets in some games. There’s a number of players down there that have played extremely well.
“These are never easy decisions. We rely a lot on (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach) J.D. Forrest and his staff down there with their feedback on who’s playing well and who might be deserving of the opportunity. We also have the big picture in mind in trying to keep everybody playing and developing their respective games.
Time change
The Penguins’ home game against the Carolina Hurricanes on March 13 — the same day Daylight Savings Time begins — underwent a time change.
Play will now begin shortly after 1 p.m. Previously, the contest was scheduled to begin briefly after 6 p.m.
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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