Photo via Yahoo Sports

When will the Penguins top line start making an impact?

The Pittsburgh Penguins' top line of Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell, and Bryan Rust has struggled to make an impact this season, despite Crosby finally breaking his goal drought with two tallies in a recent game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The trio has combined for just five points in their first seven outings together, with Crosby and Rakell each registering zero goals and minimal assists.

Individually, Rust has shown slightly more offensive production with two goals in four games, but the line as a whole has been the Penguins' least effective unit, outscored 3-2 in the 35 minutes they’ve shared the ice. Their defensive performance has been particularly poor, as the Penguins have allowed more goals when Crosby, Rakell, and Rust are on the ice together, despite the line receiving the highest offensive-zone starts on the team (23 compared to just three in the defensive zone).

When the trio is off the ice, Pittsburgh’s offense improves dramatically, outscoring opponents 10-6 and nearly doubling their expected goal share from 34.9% to 59.4%. The slow starts for Crosby and Rakell are not unprecedented, but their age—33, 34, and 39 respectively—raises questions about long-term sustainability, especially as Rust and Rakell may begin to decline while Crosby remains the team’s primary offensive catalyst.

Up nextNHL· 27m ago

Matt Boldy has 5th career hat trick and Wild beat Blues 5-4