With Rakell out, Rust banged up, how can Penguins optimize forward lines?

Alex Nylander — Photo via GETTY

You’d have to go all the way back to the 2021-22 season to find the last time the Penguins’ top six faced injury troubles.

Well, until now.

Last season, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell remarkably suited up for all 82 regular-season games while Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust and Jason Zucker combined to miss just nine games.

The odds were stacked against such fortune repeating itself. Each member of this season’s top six (featuring Reilly Smith in place of Zucker) has played in all 17 games thus far, but the clean bill of health is no more.

Rust, who has already made last season’s disappointing performance a thing of the past with nine goals and seven assists, is being evaluated for a lower-body injury. It doesn’t appear that he’ll be ready to go for Wednesday’s matchup with the Rangers at PPG Paints Arena.

Rakell, mired in his worst slump during his time with the Penguins (zero goals, four assists), was placed on long-term injured reserve on Tuesday and will miss at least 10 games and 24 days before he can be activated.

The Penguins were already on the edge of starving for depth offense. Now, Crosby and Malkin have an even larger burden to shoulder.

I don’t want to jump too far ahead here, but these injuries — especially if Rust’s is semi-serious — might have significant effects on the outlook of the season.

The obvious reason is that, theoretically, the already-sketchy depth scoring will take another step back or remain stagnant while the players stepping into top-six roles struggle to provide similar value to those they are replacing. I know Rakell hasn’t been producing or playing particularly well, but I’m still taking him over a fringe NHLer or career bottom-sixer throughout a 10-plus game sample. Let’s not kid ourselves here.

The not-so-obvious reason? Father Time.

Look, Crosby and Malkin still haven’t slowed down. They aren’t invincible, though. It’s fair to wonder if the additional pressure to carry the load — which was considerable to begin with — could negatively impact their performances down the stretch and, perhaps, even their health.

Either way, the Penguins aren’t going to sit around and feel sorry for themselves. They’ve got games to play and standings points to secure, with or without Rust and Rakell.

So, how can Mike Sullivan optimize his forward lines?