The Penguins are losers of eight of their last 10 games. The lineup is in flux right now, and that's not helping matters.
Evan Rodrigues played a few games, then was benched in favor of Sam Lafferty. Rodrigues was flexed back into the lineup on Sunday.
Upon being acquired from San Jose, Patrick Marleau was initially penciled onto the Penguins third line. More recently, he’s played with Evgeni Malkin.
Justin Schultz, of late, has played atop the Penguins top power play.
Like I said, there’s been a lot of lineup maneuvers, and I expect more to come.
Some have even begun to question whether it was a good idea for Jim Rutherford to turn the roster over as much as he did. I think the answer was and is “yes.”
The Penguins couldn’t continue to play with three lines. They couldn’t keep throwing the Wilkes-Barre options to the wolves for six minutes a night.
Sam Lafferty has played about nine minutes a game in 49 appearances. He has 13 points on the year.
Anthony Angello played south of six minutes a game and had just one point in eight games.
Aggozzino had two points in 17 games, playing just 6:36 a night.
Blandisi had five points in 21 games played in just over eight minutes of ice time a game.
Were you a big Thomas Di Pauli fan? Have a soft spot for Adam Johnson? How about Stefan Noeson?
Say what you will about Conor Sheary, but he’s an NHL player. Those guys aren't.
Patrick Marleau isn’t a top-six forward anymore, but he’s still a competent bottom-six option. The Penguins were struggling prior to the deadline, and before they got Dumoulin and Marino back.
The bad habits of the club coupled with the influx of a bunch of new players has made it harder to bust out of this slump. However, in the long run, Jim Rutherford did the right thing.
The Penguins are struggling now, but have a better overall roster than they did before the deadline.
They have the pieces, if not the formula at the present moment, to be a cup contender. Had the trades not been made, the Penguins wouldn’t have either.