Shakeup on 2nd line helps snap Evgeni Malkin, Jason Zucker out of scoring funk

The Pittsburgh Penguins looked to spark their second line by simplifying the game, with a directive from coach Mike Sullivan to put pucks on the net, crash the crease and make good things happen.

Sullivan shook up the second line by putting Kasperi Kapanen on Evgeni Malkin’s right wing, opposite Jason Zucker, to provide a spark to the slumping scorers. The Penguins were rewarded when Zucker and Kapanen tallied their first goals of the season, the latter on a Malkin assist, Tuesday night in the 3-2 overtime loss at the Boston Bruins.

“That was the conversation that we’ve had with those guys the last few days,” Sullivan said. “I thought they made a concerted effort to shoot the puck and go to the net, and ‘Zuck’ got rewarded. I thought Geno’s line had a strong game.”

Zucker had one assist in his first six games, going scoreless in three consecutive, and Malkin had only one goal and one assist going into the Bruins game. The second line sparked a third-period comeback from a 2-0 deficit, changing the course of the game to send it into overtime, as the trio combined for nine shots on goal. Zucker registered four shots, Kapanen three and Malkin two on six chances.

“I thought Kappy was great. I thought Geno was great,” Zucker said. “Our emphasis going into the game was shooting pucks, trying to get to the net. I think we, myself especially, I was a little bit too fancy at times, trying to make the perfect play. Arguably, there were a couple terrible shots. The emphasis was on trying to get some shots on net, getting some zone time. We were able to get a few offensive zone shifts that were good for us to try to get a little bit of momentum.”

It started with Zucker, after three consecutive scoreless games, getting his first goal of the season by firing a shot from the right circle past a prone Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask at 9 minutes, 47 seconds of the third.

“It’s always nice to score,” Zucker said. “For me, I think it was a lot more than getting chances. In the past games, I don’t think I was playing the right way. I wasn’t playing a good game. I wasn’t skating and playing the way I can. I was happy to be out there and skating, trying to make some plays, holding onto pucks. And, obviously, the goal is always great. But we didn’t get the win, and that’s always a disappointment there.”

Kapanen added the equalizer when Zucker tapped a Boston turnover from the left boards to Malkin, who fed a speeding Kapanen to the right at the blue line. Kapanen beat a Boston defender despite getting hooked, then slipped a backhand under Rask’s pad to tie it 2-2 with 3:16 left.

“For the most part, we were staying in their zone,” Kapanen said, “and once we threw the puck on net a couple of times, eventually it’s going to go in.”

It might have a turning point for Malkin, who has struggled to a minus-3 plus-minus rating after seven games. Sullivan believes Malkin benefited from Kapanen’s speed on the second line, which allowed Malkin to use his playmaking ability to set up a score.

“I thought Geno got better as the game went on,” Sullivan said. “He just seemed to get more and more confident. … I just felt like Geno got more and more confident as the game went on. He had the puck a lot. That’s usually a good indication that Geno’s game is coming.”

Malkin, however, malfunctioned in overtime. He hit the post on a breakaway at 3:37, then botched a three-on-none rush by passing the puck to defenseman Kris Letang, whose return pass was broken up by Rask to prevent the Penguins from managing a shot. Sullivan was at a loss for words on that play.

“I don’t tell them anything,” Sullivan said. “I’m not sure what I can say can help them moving forward. They understand the circumstance. These guys are world-class players.”