Tim Benz: Penguins' massive line combination provides unique challenge for opponents

With Bryan Rust injured and scoring options limited in 2025-26, new Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Muse is going to be challenged to distribute wingers up and down his lineup.

For now, Sidney Crosby is skating with established veteran Rickard Rakell and rising prospect Ville Koivunen. That means Muse has to get creative in order to flank Evgeni Malkin with suitable partners.

What he’s come up with is a sight to behold.

In practice on Wednesday, as was the case during Game 1 of the season Tuesday night in New York, the 6-foot-5 Malkin skated on a line with 6-foot-6 Justin Brazeau and 6-foot-5 Anthony Mantha.

The pure visual of seeing two other players alongside Malkin who are nearly his same size is a sight to behold for his longtime teammates.

“It’s fun. Usually, you can tell which one is him because he is about four or five inches taller than everybody else,” Rust said of Malkin. “But now you have to look a little bit harder because everyone is the same height skating out there.”

It’s not entirely rare to see Malkin skating with other big forwards. Before becoming a full-time center, Jordan Staal (who is a little over 6-foot-4) played some wing with Malkin. James Neal is almost 6-foot-4. Ryan Malone is 6-foot-4. He played over 500 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time with Malkin.

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But Brazeau and Mantha are even bigger than those guys. And that’s certainly a lot of size and wingspan to deal with for opposing skaters.

“They see big bodies coming at them. For being big bodies, I think all three of us move pretty well,” Mantha said. “We are fast. We are hunting pucks. It could create a sense of urgency for opponents. We can finish plays. We can create offensively. That’s the biggest difference in our line.”

Muse insists that this threesome wasn’t just put together with the idea of overwhelming the opposition with size. He thinks the skill element all three men bring to their games is significant as well.

“You have that size, which is obviously going to be tough to handle down low, on the walls, at the net front. But you also have guys that have the ability to make plays, in tight areas and in transition,” Muse said. “That’s the hope. That that (element) continues to be there, because that makes it even more difficult there on the opponent.”

That theory certainly manifested Tuesday against the Rangers. Brazeau scored the first goal of the game off of nifty work from Malkin in the faceoff circle.

Malkin won an offensive-zone draw by pushing the puck forward. He then snapped a pass to Brazeau while falling to the ice. Brazeau paid off Malkin’s hard work with some quick hands, going backhand to forehand to backhand and elevating the puck quickly over goalie Igor Shesterkin.

Justin Brazeau with the nifty mitts in tight for the first goal of the game! ???????? pic.twitter.com/ZLTiWT2YzF

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 8, 2025

“They are going to be tough to take the puck off of. And they all have a lot of skill,” Rakell said. “They can all skate. They are shifty. Braz is good in front of the net. Geno is great with the puck, an elite puckhandler. And Mo has been great off the forecheck, has great hockey sense and seems to find the dangerous areas.”

Malkin and Mantha also both assisted on Brazeau’s second goal of the night, an empty netter, as the Penguins would go on to win 3-0.

Justin Brazeau gets his second goal of the game ???? pic.twitter.com/2e9Uij5gji

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 8, 2025

“We are going to win a majority of the one-on-ones,” Mantha said. “Those loose pucks. If it is a battle, I think we’ll come out with it maybe 60%-70% of the time, which in the NHL, is hard to do.”

With Rust taking full contact in practice now, a looming return to the lineup means he’ll probably jump back on Crosby’s line, and either Rakell or Koivunen could join Malkin. That’ll leave Brazeau or Mantha to third or fourth line duties.

But that tree-top line of Brazeau-Malkin-Matha is worth deploying by Muse for a different look occasionally during games.

If not with regularity throughout the season.