Pittsburgh Penguins : Mike Johnston Sees Phil Kessel Alongside Sidney Crosby

Pittsburgh Penguins Head Coach Mike Johnston said yesterday that if the season were to start today Phil Kessel would play alongside Sidney Crosby on the top line.

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This statement is hardly surprising, as this is Sid’s team and he’ll almost always get first bid on who he’s playing with. However, despite the fact that many expected Kessel to play with Crosby, the quote stirred up a large amount of debate among the Pittsburgh Penguins faithful yesterday.

It’s tough to say anything definitive at this point. So, let me start by saying that Johnston’s statement needs to be looked at for exactly what it was. By saying “if the season started today”, it’s clear that he understands anything can happen in training camp and preseason. We don’t know for sure that Sid and Kessel are cemented on a line together just yet.

As far as a fit, there’s a valid argument for both Sid or Evgeni Malkin to have Kessel flank them.

When you consider Geno’s style and the ability Kessel has to find soft spots in defensive zone coverage, it looks like a match made in heaven. Malkin loves to carry the puck and control play and he does it better than almost any other player in the world. He demands attention and will create space for Kessel to find an area in which Malkin can feed him with clear shooting lanes. After all, that’s why Kessel is here, to shoot the puck.

But, on the other hand, his speed through the neutral zone and ability to create offense off the rush means he’ll mesh well with Crosby. We’ve all seen Sid picking up momentum through he neutral zone and hitting the offensive zone with a ton of speed. Now, he’ll have a winger that can match that speed and also possesses a world-class scoring ability. Let’s also not forget that Sid is arguably the best setup man in the league, so that bodes well for these two as well.

I’m in the camp that believe’s Kessel should be playing alongside Malkin, simply based on their styles. Of course, there’s no way of knowing who he meshes with until camp starts and even then, there will be questions about where he’ll play. Look for shuffling to happen throughout at least the first two months of the season in order to perfect this lineup. And, considering that Patric Hornqvist, the right-wing that will occupy whichever spot Kessel doesn’t, see’s an increase in all of his underlying numbers that includes scoring rates while with Geno it’s tough to argue either way.

Discussions about where Kessel plays will continue for the foreseeable future. Let’s just say that it’s a great problem to have if you’re the Pittsburgh Penguins.

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