Penguins Shake Up Top Six at Practice

It is not unlike Mike Sullivan to shake up the line-up midgame. We saw him do this against the Coyotes, putting Bryan Rust on the top line, and shifting other players around.

At practice today, the Pens shook up their top 3 lines, moving forwards around.

The Penguins have switched up their top-nine at forward. Rust moves to Crosby's line, White moves to Malkin's line, and Rakell moves to Eller's line:

Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
O'Connor-Malkin-White
Rakell-Eller-Puustinen
Harkins-Acciari-Carter� Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) January 24, 2024

Rust has performed well when paired with Crosby and Guentzel in the past. It could be that the Penguins are looking to get that added production from the first line, seeing as how the Malkin line has been struggling.


Previously we have seen Rakell on the top PP unit, but it looks like they are going to continue using and practicing with Rust up on the top line. He was moved to the top powerplay unit on January 15th and has been there since.

PP1) Karlsson, Crosby, Malkin, Guentzel, Rust
PP2) Letang, Rakell, Eller, Puustinen, Carter� Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) January 24, 2024

The Penguins definitely need to shake up something, even though the offense has looked pretty good. Sid continues to carry the team, but the inconsistency seems to always come out. Defensively and in front of their net is where the changes need to happen to win games.

When Sullivan was asked about their last 4 periods of hockey, he commented;

Sullivan: "It just seemed like when we did get some traction in the game... we get the second goal, for example, and we got some juice � but then we give one up a minute later. That's demoralizing, I think. So, we've got to do a better job in critical moments in the game."� Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) January 23, 2024

For now, let's hope that Rust can bring a spark and help to continue production with the first line. Maybe some shaking up on defense is on it's way.