A year later, after so much fuss, the Penguins find themselves in the same, familiar spot: looking for a third-line center.
Derick Brassard, their big acquisition last season, hasn’t been what they expected. He has no points in seven games, three in his past 17. Which means that either Brassard needs to start scoring, or he must suddenly transform himself into a Selke Trophy candidate and penalty-killing dynamo.
That’s what the Penguins will be watching for over the next little while, general manager Jim Rutherford told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sunday. And if Brassard isn’t able to function within the role the Penguins have for him — that would certainly been the team’s preference — Rutherford may need to go find someone who can.
“We win with balanced lines,” Rutherford said. “I do think that he’s got more to offer, but that’s an area we’ll be watching here to make sure that we’re getting what we need out of that position.”
This hasn’t been easy for Brassard, who has been a top-six forward for much of his career. His average ice time in Pittsburgh (15:34) is more than 2 minutes below what he got in Ottawa (17:47), his previous NHL stop. Brassard has seven goals in 53 games (regular season and playoffs) as a Penguin, the same number Nick Bonino had in March 2017 alone.
Furthermore, Brassard has cycled through winger after winger, failing to find substantive and sustainable chemistry with anyone. About the closest he came was in the preseason, when he skated with Dominik Simon and Bryan Rust.
The Penguins have seen a noticeable jump in Brassard’s comfortability when coach Mike Sullivan has elevated him to Sidney Crosby’s left wing, but with the way Crosby and Jake Guentzel are playing right now, that job is nowhere near available.
Then, there are the injuries, first late in the 2017-18 regular season, then again Oct. 25 in Calgary. Both were lower-body issues, and they drastically affected Brassard’s speed — something that can’t really happen for someone who plays his style.
Rutherford has been encouraged by Brassard’s past four games, when the GM said the skating has improved, and Brassard has won 63 percent of his faceoffs. But the fact remains: In that spot, either you have to score or be stout defensively, and Brassard has been caught in the middle.
“I do believe over the last few games he’s played better,” Rutherford said. “Certainly in these last few games he’s won some big faceoffs for us at critical times. He’s been more involved in the game. At that position, you either have to produce or you have to be a defensive, penalty-killing role player.”
And as such, in the weeks after the Christmas break, the Penguins will be looking at a variety of things, though none more impactful than whether they can get what they need out of their third-line center spot.
“We’re monitoring things on a regular basis,” Rutherford said. “That one would be the focus.”
On DupuisGate
Count Rutherford among those who was not thrilled with Pascal Dupuis’ comments last week on TVA Sports that seemed to question the relationship between coach Mike Sullivan, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel.
“It didn’t make much sense to me,” Rutherford said. “I don’t know what he was doing.”
Dupuis insisted he wasn’t digging for information when he was in Pittsburgh the previous weekend, and he wasn’t trying to stir the pot. It was simply a case of a former player making an observation, even if many in the organization now disagree with that.
Rutherford, though, said he’s seen no change in the dynamic among Sullivan, Malkin and Sullivan. Sometimes there are heated discussions, sure, but nothing that’s unhealthy or untenable.
“I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary from what I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” Rutherford said.
Encouraging signs
Despite feeling the need to critically assess what the Penguins are getting from their third-line center spot, Rutherford has been extremely happy with his team’s play of late.
The Penguins have won three in a row, five of six and 11 of 17 to open up a four-point lead when it comes to third place in the Metropolitan Division.
“It’s really been for a few weeks now,” Rutherford said. “We’re playing the game the right way. Certainly of late, now that we got all our forwards, it puts the coach in a place where he can get better balance on the forward lines. You can see that makes a difference.”
Rutherford has long been a huge fan of Matt Murray, and he’s been thrilled to see Murray return from a lower-body injury by going 3-0 with a 1.30 goals-against average and .964 save percentage.
“He’s been really good,” Rutherford said. “Got through that injury. That’s been good for him.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: December 23, 2018, 6:02 p.m.
