Penguins Make Massive Lineup Changes
The Pittsburgh Penguins are still looking for a spark with even more lineup adjustments.
PITTSBURGH – After one of the most disheartening losses of the 2023-24 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins appear to be making yet another lineup change to spark something. Following their 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, their first practice saw multiple notable changes.
The most significant changes were those to the left side of the defensive pairing being put into a blender. P.O. Joseph was pulled from being a regular healthy scratch to skating alongside Kris Letang on the first line.
Marcus Pettersson was bumped to the second pairing back, where he started the year with Erik Karlsson. Ryan Graves was once again pushed to the third pairing to share a line with Chad Ruhwedel.
These moves pushed rookie defender John Ludvig to skate on a fourth defensive pair with forward Jesse Puljujarvi. These moves also don’t seem optimistic for Puljujarvi, who could be the next forward healthy scratched.
Puljujarvi has been a regular face in the lineup since signing an official contract earlier in the month, but he has yet to produce offense. In six games played, he has yet to score a single point. Valtteri Puustinen stepped back into the lineup in Puljujarvi’s place.
Elsewhere in the forward corps, Evgeni Malkin’s second line got another facelift. Reilly Smith was moved off of Malkin’s wing instead of newcomer Matthew Phillips. In his Penguins debut against the Kings, Phillips skated on the third line with Lars Eller and Puljujarvi.
The first and fourth lines stood pat as the only areas of the lineup not seeing adjustments.
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