Pittsburgh Penguins' winger Rickard Rakell continues to search for his first goal of the season.

There are few question marks for the Pittsburgh Penguins when assessing their top six forwards. However, Rickard Rakell's scoring struggles have become a growing concern as the winger is still searching for his first goal of the 2023-24 season.

Rakell has scored three points, all of them assists, for the Penguins this year, with two coming in the team's most recent game against the struggling San Jose Sharks. His lack of scoring isn't the Penguins' sole issue, but it's the most surprising.

If Rakell fails to light the lamp against his former team, the Anaheim Ducks, Tuesday evening, this stretch will become his longest scoring drought (11 games) since joining the Penguins in 2021. The only other time he went ten games without a goal with the Penguins was from February 18th to March 9th earlier this year, but even then, he had six assists.

Rakell's overall performance hasn't been bad. He sits in the top five on the Penguins in most analytical categories and has continued to get shots on the net. Most recently, Rakell has put together back-to-back games with six shots on goal and yet he remains scoreless on the season.

If his struggles continue, the Penguins may force a change in their top six. One option would be reuniting Rakell with Crosby and Guentzel on the first line. That trio accounted for some of the best stretches of the Penguins season last year. 

But that would mean splitting up the best line on the team this season and demoting Bryan Rust, who is coming off a five-point game in San Jose.

The other option would be to move Rakell down a line. Radim Zohorna has looked very good since being recalled from Wilkes-Barre Scranton of the AHL. He spent a few games on Evgeni Malkin's wing during the preseason and could be an option to fill that role in place of Rakell.

As for Rakell, bumping to the third line is a much easier transition this year than in past seasons. For the first time in years, the other two players on that line have established and solidified their position in recent weeks, whereas in seasons past, it's been a revolving door of forwards.

Rakell's role would be that of the finisher on that line, setting him up for a heavier percentage of opportunities compared to Lars Eller and Drew O'Connor. The forechecking of O'Connor, paired with the passing and vision of Eller, could mesh well with Rakell's skill set.

A change in the lineup may not be in the cards right now, not following a 10-2 victory on Saturday night, but the Penguins cannot allow Rakell to continue to struggle much longer.

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