Throughout the last decade and a half, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup three times and assembled the longest postseason streak in North American sports thanks — first and foremost — to their potent one-two punch at center.
But if the Penguins have any shot of etching their names on the Stanley Cup this season, they’ll have to first find a winning formula while their stars are scratched.
Neither Sidney Crosby nor Evgeni Malkin will be in uniform when the Penguins begin their 82-game journey on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against the defending back-to-back champs, the Tampa Bay Lightning. That early-season adversity will test the Penguins’ depth and their discipline, as they lean on structure and simplicity in place of star power.
“Obviously, they’re world-class players,” said Kris Letang, the third member of that big three. “They’re the two best players on our team. They bring so much offense. In a night that you’re going to need big goals, usually they’re the guys.”
The captain practiced with the main group on Monday and will make the trip to Florida; however, coach Mike Sullivan said it’s “unlikely” Crosby will play on Thursday against the Florida Panthers, either. Malkin, meanwhile, is expected to miss at least the first two months of the season as he recovers from right knee surgery. Add Jake Guentzel to the press box, too. Even though the top-line winger tested out of the NHL’s protocol following an asymptomatic bout with COVID, he’s still getting his timing and conditioning back after a week away.
“We’ve just got to fight that adversity,” Kasperi Kapanen said. “We’ve still got an amazing group. It’s going to be a tough start, but I think our group is up for it.”
Over the length of their careers, Crosby (1.27 points per game) and Malkin (1.17) have combined to produce more than 2.4 points per game. Replacing that production is, obviously, a tough challenge. Actually, it’s impossible.
That’s why the Penguins aren’t planning to do so. Instead, early this season, they know their recipe for success is smart, structured, defensively sound hockey.
“If we’re going to have success, we’re going to have to play a stingy game,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “It’s going to take a collective effort and attention to detail. With some of the game-breakers that aren’t in our lineup right now, we can’t look to those guys to be the difference. We have to build a team game that’s going to give us the best chance to be successful.
“It’s not about highlight-reel goals. It’s about playing the game the right way. Making good decisions. Being strong on the puck. Being on the right side of the puck. Winning the puck battles. The wall play. The net-front play. All those little things add up to winning. That’s the type of game we’re going to have to develop.”
Recent history has provided the road map for the Penguins, as they’ve had to learn how to keep the train on the tracks without their offensive engines firing. During the 2019-20 season, Crosby missed 28 of 69 games as he recovered from core muscle surgery. Last year, it was the other star center, Malkin, who sat out 23 games.
In each of those instances, Sullivan used the significant absences to galvanize the group. The Penguins somehow posted the NHL’s best record during the weeks they were without the game’s best player in 2019-20. Last year? They still won what was arguably the NHL’s best division without Malkin.
While there might be a temptation to focus on the offensive side in attempt to make up for the missing star power, really, it’s the opposite that will be key.
“One fault we can make as defensemen is thinking we really need to push the pace and then start leaving guys behind us and start trying to do too much on the breakouts and things like that,” defenseman Mike Matheson said. “I think for defensemen, we need to make sure we know we can’t win games 6-5 to start the season especially. I don’t think that’s ever a good recipe, especially now, because we might not have as much firepower.”
The Penguins proved they could follow that plan last season. Initially, they started last year quite shaky on the defensive side, especially in front of the net, where they allowed so many high-danger chances.
But as the season unfolded, they eventually transformed into the NHL’s stingiest defensive team, leading the league in goals-against average and save percentage in the month of March. Then in April, goaltender Tristan Jarry shut out two quality playoff teams, Boston and Washington, in the final six games.
“We have to do it with 22 guys at a time, battle as a team, playing a nice structured game and we’ll be fine,” Letang said. “We have guys that know how to win. They know the recipe. I’m fully confident some people will step up and try to fill the big shoes.”
Mike DeFabo: mdefabo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MikeDeFabo
First Published: October 11, 2021, 8:47 p.m.
Updated: October 12, 2021, 12:20 p.m.