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Beyond Fleury: 4 Penguins Storylines That Really Matter This Weekend
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- Beyond Fleury: 4 Penguins Storylines That Really Matter This Weekend
Beyond Fleury: 4 Penguins Storylines That Really Matter This Weekend
Marc-Andre Fleury . In a unique and (hopefully) wonderful moment, Fleury will wear the Pittsburgh Penguins crest once more and retire after playing one period Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets .
It will be the most emotional preseason game in Penguins history. Sidney Crosby , Evgeni Malkin , and Kris Letang will also be in the lineup, but so, too, will a handful of players battling to stay on the NHL roster.
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Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas's overstocked roster and the resulting competition will come to a head this weekend, and the team will disperse more than 30 players shortly afterward.
However, Dan Muse rebuffed this reporter's latest question about paring the roster and getting closer to decisions.
"No. I understand the question, but there are still a number of preseason games to go. It's still early," Muse said.
Most players will head to the minor league camps. A couple of players, such as Ben Kindel, will be sent back to juniors, and still a few more will have that heartbreaking conversation with Dubas and Muse, who inform them that their services won't be needed and the Penguins wish them good luck.
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Undoubtedly, a few players, who never saw it coming just a month ago, will get that conversation.
4 Penguins Storylines
1. Veteran Waivers
After Saturday, there will be three preseason games remaining, and it will be time to thin the herd, but what about last year's Penguins, such as Philip Tomasino and Danton Heinen ? Add Noel Acciari to that mix as it appears he is on track to return on schedule, next week.
The Penguins' victory on Friday was a necessary showing for Tomasino and Heinen. Both were pretty good, especially as the game got tougher.
Had they vanished into the ether, both would be in great danger of being cut. Instead, both firmly inserted themselves into the conversation for a top-nine role.
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How will the team deal with Acciari, who has not yet participated in training camp?
2. Secondary Prospects
Filip Hallander , Avery Hayes, and Sam Poulin are players who previously would have received a lot more ink and attention in the shallow prospect pools. Now, all three are fighting for their spot in the NHL.
Poulin was the Penguins ' first-round pick in 2019, and the team's first top-round selection in five years. He hasn't seized a couple of opportunities to stick in the NHL and has played just 13 games at the top level.
Make no mistake, he remains a long shot to make the team, but his play Friday was some of his best. He seems to have forgotten that he's a first-rounder and is embracing the grit and jam that a player who is 6-foot-2, 227 pounds can bring.
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Hallander is running out of runway. He needs to show well in the games because he is not, at his core, a fourth-line type player. He's had some nice moments, but he hasn't been as good as others.
3. The Try Outs
Despite Muse's assertion to the contrary, it does say something that he stocked today's main group with NHL regular players and then Harrison Brunicke , Rafael Harvey-Pinard , Avery Hayes, Matt Dumba , and Caleb Jones .
The first two would seem to have a better chance of making the team than the last two, but as Muse noted, there are still a few more preseason games and time to go in camp.
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Hayes was deservedly the apple of many eyes over the summer and after the Prospects Challenge. He is the undrafted underdog who has smashed expectations at every level. However, since a great start to camp, he hasn't been a standout, while others have risen.
Jones is not a young player, but he had to break free from the LA Kings organization. Their game and his did mix. Jones is a speedy defenseman who can move the puck. LA likes stay-at-home types.
In camp, Jones has played the game that many hoped to see from P.O Joseph: a head-up, quick skating, forward push. Jones has a real chance to unseat Ryan Graves in the Penguins' lineup.
…assuming Owen Pickering will be in the lineup and is otherwise not in danger.
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Dumba was a Dallas Stars salary dump. Later last season, he was relegated to a healthy scratch, and Lone Star observers considered him to be "lost." Yet he has looked revitalized with the Penguins. His skating is his strength, and he controlled the puck with his skating on Friday, then made several sharp passes to push the Penguins' offensive attack.
Dumba would ordinarily make the team if not for Harrison Brunicke and Connor Clifton . The battle is tight. Good performances by Brunicke in the next couple of games would put him in the lead.
The other "tryout" is a literal tryout for Robby Fabbri . He has looked very professional. He's skating very well and playing very well. His goal Friday night was the type of goal that makes the team–he stole the puck along the right wall and made a beeline to the net between three defenders.
4. Dan Muse?
We're also getting to the point in preseason when we should begin to see just what type of system and scheme Muse envisions for the mismash of youth, veteran, and second-chance players.
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Thus far, we've seen a conservative forecheck, indicating we might see a reserved, staid neutral zone scheme that is good with counterattacks until it's time to fully attack.
Friday, the defensemen were quite active. Dumba and Ryan Shea were especially good and jumped into the play with good effect.
The post Beyond Fleury: 4 Penguins Storylines That Really Matter This Weekend appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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