Injuries generate questions at center
Who can fill in for Malkin, Blueger?
Near the end of another eventful offseason in Pittsburgh, former Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford used the little financial wiggle room he had left to fill out his forward group with a trio of veterans who had experience playing center.
Jared McCann was retained as a restricted free agent despite a long scoring drought. Mark Jankowski and Evan Rodrigues each took one-year deals for the league minimum. Now, they might be asked to take on key roles for the Penguins.
It is fair to question if they are capable. But these are the guys they’ve got.
The Penguins lost two of their top three centers in the back-to-back games against the Boston Bruins. Teddy Blueger did not suit up Tuesday because of an upperbody injury coach Mike Sullivan said would keep Blueger out “longer term.” Then, Evgeni Malkin was knocked out of the 2-1 loss with a lower-body injury.
Late Tuesday, Malkin’s injury was still being evaluated. That he tried to return to the game, taking one shift, gives hope it won’t sideline him too long.
But, at the very least, the Penguins could be without Malkin and Blueger in the short term, starting with Thursday’s game against the Devils in New Jersey.
Both centers provide great on-ice value in vastly different ways.
After a disappointing and puzzling 20-game funk to open 2021, Malkin has probably been the team’s best
skater in March and a catalyst for the six-game winning streak the Bruins snapped Tuesday. His swagger and scoring touch were back during an eight-game point streak that saw him produce a dozen points.
Blueger, meanwhile, has developed into a fine thirdline center. Sullivan counts on his line to grind down top forwards and keep them off the scoresheet. And Blueger has showed up there more often, too, with 15 points through 28 games.
The Penguins do not presently have an ideal option to slot into either center spot, not to mention replace their important contributions on special teams.
Obviously, Malkin would be the tougher player to replace if the Penguins do not have encouraging news for Sullivan to share after Thursday’s morning skate.
McCann, when healthy, would make the most sense to fill in for Malkin in the middle of the second line. Out since March 7 with an upper-body injury, he resumed skating in recent days and could be cleared as early as Thursday.
McCann was thrust into that role last season under similar circumstances. In the majority of the 28 games Sidney Crosby missed, McCann centered the second line. He tallied eight goals and 16 points over that span with a plus-2 rating.
But then he succumbed to a yearlong slump, was a healthy scratch for a playoff game and started 2021 off on the wing. Only recently — and briefly — did McCann resemble the scoring threat we saw in the first half of 2019-20. Then, he got injured.
That’s a long-winded way of saying the 24-year-old is a total wild card.
The other alternative to replace Malkin is the guy who did it against Boston.
That would be Rodrigues, a right-handed jack of all trades and master of none. During his days in Buffalo, he was at times asked to line up as a top-six center when injuries struck. But it was a big ask. He has never scored 10 goals in a season.
That said, one could make the case Rodrigues is the best candidate to fill in for Blueger on the third line, with Jankowski remaining the fourth-line center.
Jankowski, to this point, has underwhelmed. It is hard to go unnoticed when you are 6-foot-4, but that has been the case most games. His lone point in his past 24 games was an empty-netter up in Buffalo. And with Jankowski on at 5-on-5, the Penguins have earned just 39.2% of the high-danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick.
The options beyond Rodrigues and Jankowski are scarce.
Sam Lafferty has experience at center, but he’s another bottom-sixer who has disappointed. Josh Currie is a fringe NHLer. And Radim Zohorna is a big boy with intriguing skill, but the Czech Republic product is still getting used to the North American game.
If Malkin joins Blueger on the shelf for an extended period, that could encourage the front office duo of Ron Hextall and Brian Burke to add another capable center. But the recent streak gave the Penguins a little cushion in the standings, so those two might continue to take a wait-and-see approach with their new squad.
In the meantime, now would be a good time for McCann, Rodrigues and Jankowski to prove to the Penguins they can be counted on for this playoff push.