Penguins experiment with top-6 forwards as penalty killers

There was a notable change for the Pittsburgh Penguins during their 4-1 preseason home win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

Marc-Andre Fleury was in net.

The highly beloved but very retired goaltender took to the ice in the third period for a lavish send-off in front of a crowd he had dazzled for more than a decade as a pillar of the franchise.

But earlier in the contest, the Penguins offered another augmented display in their defensive zone.

When the Blue Jackets were granted the first power-play opportunity of the contest at 8 minutes, 49 seconds of the first period, Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust, each regulars among the Penguins’ top-six forwards, were among the first group of players sent over the boards, along with defensemen Kris Letang and Parker Wotherspoon.

The Penguins were successful as the Blue Jackets failed to score and were limited to only two shots on four attempts. Ultimately, Rust (1:40) and Rakell (1:07) finished the contest with the most short-handed time on ice totals among the team’s forwards.

Each figure represented an increase over how often both players saw the ice as penalty killers last season.

Rust averaged 1:12 of short-handed ice time per contest during 2024-25, while Rakell totaled only 32 seconds on the penalty kill in 81 games.

“I think it’s just kind of something they’re experimenting with,” Rust said. “It’s something that I’m sure they’ve talked about and I’m sure as time goes on here and we get closer and closer to the first (regular season) game, we’re probably going to experiment a little bit more and have a few more conversations, and we’ll see how it goes from there.”

Even if it’s only an experiment, the deployment of top-six forwards in a penalty kill is something the Penguins were hesitant to do regularly under previous coach Mike Sullivan.

Among the forwards who finished 2024-25 on the Penguins NHL roster, the four leading average short-handed ice time figures belonged to bottom-six forwards:

Noel Acciari — 2:44

Matt Nieto — 2:08

Connor Dewar — 2:02

Joona Koppanen — 1:52

Current Penguins coach Dan Muse had a different approach when he oversaw the New York Rangers’ penalty kill the past two seasons as an assistant coach. In 2024-25, the Rangers’ four leading penalty-killing forwards (by ice time) were all top-sixers among those on their season-ending roster:

Vince Trochek — 2:13

Mika Zibanejad — 2:00

Chris Kreider — 1:42

J.T. Miller — 1:18

Not coincidentally, the Rangers led the NHL in short-handed goals by a significant margin with 18. The Penguins were tied for 18th with five such goals.

Having an offensive component in a primarily defensive scenario offers a clear potential benefit.

“Obviously, we spend a lot of time on the power play and that we know what kind of plays to look for, (how) to cut off plays and read the game,” said Rakell, who killed penalties earlier in his career with the Anaheim Ducks. “Maybe score some short-handed goals. Just trying things out.”

As for the primary responsibility of a penalty kill, the Rangers were 11th in the league in turning away opponents’ power-play opportunities with a conversion rate of 80.3%. The Penguins were 18th at 77.8%.

To be certain, Muse and company are still in the exploratory phase of who they may want to utilize on the penalty kill.

“Investigating for sure,” Muse said. “It’s just finding the right fits. … There are guys that are on a power play that could be very good penalty killers. They think like (opposing) power-play guys, they know how to anticipate, they know how to make those reads. Right now, it’s something that we’re looking into.

“We’re trying different things. This is the time to try those things.”

Notes: Rookie forward Rutger McGroarty remained sidelined during Sunday’s practice in Cranberry. He has yet to participate in any team activities on the ice because of an undisclosed injury he suffered before training camp opened Sept. 18. Muse indicated there was no change in McGroarty’s status but that his recovery plan remains on track. … Acciari (core muscle) and Koppanen (undisclosed) each participated during Sunday’s practice and scrimmage sessions in full-contact capacities, but both players are still considered “day to day.”