Toronto Star Referrer

Hobbling Penguins aided by ex-Leafs

Role players stepping up as superstars Crosby and Malkin sidelined

KEVIN MCGRAN

PITTSBURGH—The Penguins don’t have Sidney Crosby, though he looks close to coming back. They don’t have Evgeni Malkin or Jeff Carter either, meaning they’re down their top three centres in the early going of the NHL season.

And their best defenceman, Kris Letang, joined them on the sidelines Saturday, added to the COVID-19 protocol list.

But the Penguins have yet to lose in regulation through five games after Saturday night’s 7-1 blowout win over the Leafs, piecing things together with a makeshift mix riddled with exLeafs.

From Brian Burke at the top — installed as team president last season — to forwards Kasperi Kapanen, Brian Boyle and Leaffor-a-moment Evan Rodrigues, the Penguins are among the league’s surprise teams. They could teach the Leafs a thing or two about playing with structure, and winning with grit.

“When we have some of the types of players that we have out of our lineup, I don’t think we need to change how we play. I just think we need to simplify how we play,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said, about weathering the storm without Crosby (wrist surgery), Malkin (knee surgery) and Carter (COVID-19). “That’s really the conversation that we’ve had with that group.

“I mean, we’re going to have to play a gritty game. We’re going to have to have a collective effort. We’ve got to pay attention to detail. We’ve got to rely on our structure. We’ve got to trust that everybody’s going to do their job out there. And as long as that happens ... we’ve got good players in our lineup that can compete in this league.”

Kapanen is one of them, although he went into Saturday night’s game against his old team as the only regular forward without a goal.

“Obviously you want to score as many goals as possible right off the hop, but I’d be more worried if I didn’t have chances,” said Kapanen.

“I’ve had a lot of those instances right now — hitting six or seven posts, or I barely missed. So it’s frustrating, but I’ve got plenty of time.”

Kapanen, now 25, has been the recipient of Sullivan’s tough love, reminiscent of similar coaching tactics with the Leafs and Marlies.

“It’s just more of me trying to be the best player I possibly can, day in and day out — not necessarily even on the ice, but off the ice,” said Kapanen. “Right now, I’m in the best shape of my life. I know (Sullivan) and strength guys have been on me to prepare for the season. I feel amazing.

“Sometimes when I get sloppy, I’m not at my best, (the coach is) going to let me know. I think that’s the way (it should) be.”

The Leafs traded Kapanen after losing to Columbus in the qualifying round in the summer of 2020. He had 11 goals in 40 games for Pittsburgh last season, and dealt with a few injuries.

“He’s been a very good player for us and I really like his game,” said Sullivan. “He has so much upside. I think there’s so much room for growth with his game.

“There really isn’t any aspect of the game that he can’t play. He’s big and strong (six-footone, 194 pounds). He can play a grind game down low. His speed off the rush is very threatening. He can really shoot the puck.”

It’s been a fascinating series of deals involving Kapanen, drafted by the Penguins in 2014.

In 2016, the Leafs acquired Kapanen along with centre Nick Spaling, defenceman Scott Harrington and two draft picks (first- and third-rounders) from the Penguins for star forward Phil Kessel, Tyler Biggs, Tim Erixon and a secondround selection.

> Last year, they sent Kapanen back to Pittsburgh with forward Pontus Åberg and defenceman Jesper Lindgren for Rodrigues, defenceman David Warsofsky, centre Filip Hållander and a 2020 first-round pick that turned into forward Rodion Amirov, a top prospect in Russia.

> Hållander was shipped back to the Penguins this summer for forward Jared McCann, who was lost to the Seattle Kraken a few days later in the expansion draft.

> Åberg is in the Ottawa Senators system now. Lindgren and Warsofsky are both in Europe, free agents as far as the NHL is concerned.

> And Rodrigues — they call him “E-Rod” — well, he’s Pittsburgh’s No. 1 centre for the moment, between Kapanen and Jake Guentzel. The Leafs didn’t sign him after they acquired his rights on Aug. 25, 2020, and he was free to re-sign with Pittsburgh less than two months later.

“He hasn’t come out of nowhere for us,” Sullivan said about Rodrigues, who scored Saturday night. “We know his game very well. Since E-Rod has been part of the Pittsburgh Penguins, he’s a utility player for us. He’s our Swiss Army knife.”

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2021-10-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

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