There is no greater X-factor for the 2019-20 Pittsburgh Penguins in this postseason than the game of its two goalkeepers, Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry. That is not exactly a secret either. We all know that penguins will only go as far as those two are capable of carrying them. But while they are the biggest X factor at stake, they are not the only one.
Just behind them on the intrigue ladder is the newly formed third line of Jared McCann, Patrick Marleau, and Patric Hornqvist.
On paper, there’s a lot I like about this trio. But what makes the line so intriguing is that it’s the only line forward that still presents many unanswered questions about how it will work.
We know that the first two lines, centered by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, will provide the potential for plenty of game-changing offenses and performances, especially with Jake Guentzel back in the lineup.
We also know that the fourth line, consisting of Teddy Blueger, Brandon Tanev, and Zach Aston-Reese, will be a defensive saw based on what we’ve seen this season.
The only we are no really sure about this newly formed third line, mainly because they just haven’t spent real time playing together and we don’t know exactly how they will fit together. OR Yes will fit
McCann is one of the Penguins’ most versatile players, possessing the ability to either be a top-line winger alongside Sidney Crosby, or center his own line to help extend the team’s depth. Given his age, potential, talent and production, he is one of the most cap-friendly players on the list. He’s already scored at a rate of 20 goals and 50 points for this season and has been a great addition since joining the Florida Panthers team a year ago. There is much to like about him.
Almost the only question regarding him right now, and it’s a big question, is the fact that he’s facing a 22-game goalless drought and will be asked to take on a pretty big role when the season resumes. center of the third line.
This is not a disposable place. The third line will have to offer offense at some point because although the first two lines will be constant threats, they will not score goals every night. Each of the three winning Stanley Cup teams in the Crosby-Malkin era has had a dominant third line that could regain that slack when the first two lines are stopped for a couple of games.
Alongside McCann, you have Marleau and Hornqvist on the wings providing their own questions.
It’s easy to forget that Marleau is a member of the Penguins because he only played a handful of games with the team before the season stopped more than four months ago. He can still skate, but he’s one of the oldest players in the league and he’s probably not going to load a line anymore. There’s definitely still something there with him, but how much – and in what capacity – remains to be seen.
Hornqvist is one of the Penguins’ heart and soul players and you KNOW the kind of effort you will get from him every night. No matter the score, no matter the situation, he will play 110 miles per hour and will greatly frustrate the team the penguins are playing.
But his season has also been a bit strange in my opinion. In general, there is no objection to production. He is providing the same level of offense that you expect him to provide, and the effort is always there. But there have been times when eyesight testing has not always been pretty. Granted, Hornqvist’s game could never be described as “pretty,” but sometimes this season he’s been seen as a player whose playing style might be starting to catch up a bit.
Each player alone has value and can be a major contributor in some capacity. The question is whether or not they will be combined into a working unit. Right now, they just seem to be a line that joined because there was no other place they could go. It is almost as if it was a line of leftovers forward once the other lines were assembled.
There is no reason to break the fourth line and the way he has played, while the return of Guentzel, the arrival of Jason Zucker and Conor Sheary, and the presence of Bryan Rust have completely filled the first six.
Outside of another player’s injury elsewhere in the lineup, pretty much the only thing I can see shaking things up dramatically is that this line falls completely and forces Mike Sullivan, or if someone like Sheary just doesn’t work alongside Crosby Guentzel that. then it would take Marleau or Hornqvist to the top, Sheary to a couple of points, or out of the lineup entirely and create an opportunity for someone like Evan Rodrigues or Sam Lafferty.
In the end, I think this line has the potential to work because all three players are good players in their own right. You always want to bet that good players can work. Sometimes, however, it does not. We will have to see how this ends.
