Pittsburgh Penguins Line Combinations To Start the 2015-16 Season

Mar 1, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) skates with the puck alongside left wing

(39) as Columbus Blue Jackets right wing

(13) chases during the first period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

First Line: Perron-Crosby-Hornqvist

There is plenty to debate here about who should play with Sidney Crosby and who should not. Let’s look at the facts. Crosby needs wingers on his line who are fast and able to do the dirty work in the corners. Wingers who create havoc in front of the net, opening up space for Sid to do what he does best. Patric Hornqvist and David Perron are the guys he needs.

The combination of Crosby and Hornqvist was great all season, why would Mike Johnston change something that was working? David Perron is very capable of producing points alongside Crosby, just as much as Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis did two seasons ago.

Perron has the speed needed to keep up and be successful on a line with #87, but he needs to be consistent. When he first arrived in Pittsburgh via trade, he was incredible and well worth what we gave up to obtain him. Once the season was coming to a close, he began to slow down and was not productive. If Perron does not start finding the back of the net with Sidney Crosby as his center, he will be pushed down the lineup or traded out of Pittsburgh.

Although the combination of Phil Kessel and Sidney Crosby would work, I see a better fit in this line combination that we saw last season.