Issue For Penguins Up Front Isn't Talent, It's Deployment

Last season, the Pittsburgh Penguins were one of the NHL's most prolific offenses, finishing third in the league in goals scored and having a top-five power play for most of the season. 

So far during the 2026-27 campaign, they're missing out on some of that offense. 

Even if the Penguins are not near the bottom of the league - they're currently 10th in goals scored - they are not getting production from several players they expect to on a year-to-year basis. Guys like Rickard Rakell, Egor Chinakhov and Sidney Crosby have struggled production-wise to start the season, and there are other players deeper in their lineup who are carrying more of the load. 

One of the biggest themes going into this season was the sheer volume of forwards the Penguins had to begin with. They brought in Nick Robertson, Andrei Kuzmenko, Hendrix Lapierre and David Gustafsson as well as several new blueliners. The early-season outcomes have largely been uneven as a result, as the Penguins have a 3-3-1 record. 

Another thing that has been uneven? The lineups on a game-to-game basis.

Of course, every team in the league had to deal with the shortened pre-season and training camp this season, so it's not as if Pittsburgh can use that as an excuse of any sort. However, not every team in the league boasts the forward depth the Penguins have, and while depth is good, it also forces some tough decisions. 

And it's not just about roster spots and playing time, either. It's about figuring out which guys fit best where. A team can have all the depth in the world but all the trouble in the world figuring out which combinations to go with and the different roles each player will assume. 

Pittsburgh began the season in experimental fashion with their lines - or, at least, the preseason, before a bunch of players were either injured or out of the lineup - and they showed some promise. Robertson was seeing reps on the top line with Rakell and Crosby, while a third line of Kuzmenko, Ben Kindel and Bryan Rust was an intriguing prospect. 

Well, those combinations didn't last for more than a few games, and in the case of the third line, it didn't last more than a period and a half. Rust was put back with Crosby and Rakell, Robertson was relegated to the fourth line and Kindel has seen a rotating cast of characters as linemates on a daily basis. 

Robertson leads the team in goals with four. Rakell has zero goals. Chinakhov has one goal, and the second line of him, Tommy Novak and Evgeni Malkin has not been touched. The inconsistencies for the Penguins so far can be chalked up to several things - most notably, irresponsibility with the puck - but the Catch-22 with their forward lines is another culprit. 

On one hand, changing things too often, like they have, disrupts chemistry-building and doesn't give players time to gel together. On the other hand, there are combinations that have stuck since the beginning of the season that, simply, are not working.

Rakell, who has just two points in seven games, has been glued to Crosby and could probably benefit from being placed lower in the lineup for favorable matchups and to take some pressure off. Chinakhov, also with just two points, is still generating but cannot finish, and the chemistry he had with Malkin and Novak last season hasn't seemed to carry over as much to this season. 

Meanwhile, Robertson has probably earned his way up in the lineup, especially since he is playing a more complete game this season, being deployed on the penalty kill and in defensive situations. His shot and his speed could be of benefit to Crosby or Novak's line, and his scoring touch could help the top-six.

And, even if he is playing well on that fourth line and the line itself has been effective, Elmer Soderblom - who has appeared in only two games so far this season - has shown chemistry with Blake Lizotte and Connor Dewar in the past and could easily slot in. 

Head coach Dan Muse's challenge is to walk that fine line between making too many changes and refusing to fix things that aren't going as planned. It appears the Penguins are shifting their lineup a bit for Friday's matchup against the Colorado Avalanche, as Robertson was bumped up to the third line for Ville Koivunen and Soderblom was taking line rushes on the fourth.

But, if their top-six doesn't begin producing at a higher clip, they need to figure out a better way to maximize the talent they do have. After all, it's not a lack of talent up front with this team, it's a matter of putting the right pieces together as far as deployment. 

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