The Pittsburgh Penguins have questions about certain players but not many answers.

After starting off the week with a huge win over the New York Rangers, the Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t had the same luck.

Before losing to the Rangers, the Penguins blew a great opportunity to make moves in the standings by losing to the Montreal Canadiens.

Inconsistencies have been around all season and certain problem areas have gotten so rotten it’s dragging the rest of the team down.

Is it time for the Mike Sullivan and the Penguins to completely sit Jeff Carter and Brian Dumoulin?

The easy answer is yes, as a matter of fact, Sullivan is far past due sitting the veterans.

Before jumping to that conclusion, as right as it may be, who steps in their place?

For Carter, the answer is a little easier now that Ryan Poehling is back from injury; Poehling can fill the the fourth line center role Carter has been playing in and Danton Heinen slots in on the wing.

Once Nick Bonino returns from a lacerated kidney, he also becomes another option as a fourth line forward.

Is that an ideal way to round out the bottom six? No, but Ron Hextall didn’t do enough to supplement that area.

The Penguins might just be stuck with Dumoulin, however, as replacing him presents a bigger challenge.

There aren’t any solid left-shot defenders available as options; Dmitry Kulikov and Ty Smith are injured, Chad Ruhwedel and Mark Friedman shoot right, and that’s really the end of the list.

In this situation, it’s just up to Dumoulin to improve himself; that’s likely not going to happen with over two years of evidence of a decline.

Carter and Dumoulin have become the focus of a lot of anger and frustration, and for good reason.

They’re play hasn’t been good enough and at this time of year, it’s hurting the team.

Sullivan doesn’t have many options, but he should make the tough call and make the right lineup decisions to help the team win.

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