Danton Heinen has scored in back-to-back games after going goalless since October, will the Pittsburgh Penguins be using more of him?
With three points against the Florida Panthers, and another goal the following game, has Danton Heinen earned his way back into the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup?
Not quite yet, but he’s taken the first steps by recording four points for the Penguins over the last two games.
With goals in back-to-back games, Heinen snapped his goalless streak that started in the opening month of the season.
Heinen’s game seems to be improving the same way Kasperi Kapanen’s did when he had his resurgence after a flurry of healthy scratches.
Get to the net, score the ugly goals; every goal counts the same no matter how they’re scored and both Heinen and Kapanen learned that in their rebound games.
For Heinen, it took a few certain injuries for him to crack the lineup again, and even then he wasn’t scoring.
The two goals in Heinen’s last two games were results of getting close to the net and banking home loose pucks.
That’s the exact same mindset that led Kapanen to scoring a game-winning goal followed by a hat trick the next game.
Will Heinen see the same kind of luck? Has he earned his way back into the lineup full-time? So far, not yet; but, he’s off on the right foot to getting there.
For a good chunk of the season, Heinen has been invisible and pretty much unplayable.
Before his three-point game against the Panthers, Heinen had only recorded 11 points (3G-8A) in 39 games.
Mike Sullivan wasn't afraid to healthy scratch him again, but with any luck Heinen can turn his game around much like he did last season.
Learn from the mistakes while watching from the press box and get to the front of the net where good things happen.
Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more!
- Subscribe to Inside the Penguins on YouTube
- Follow Inside the Penguins on Twitter: @InsidePenguins