Pittsburgh Penguins Training Camp Day 2: Phil Kessel Videos, D-Pairings, and More

When I shared my thoughts on the Pittsburgh Penguins and day one of training camp, I mentioned that it’s important not to read too much into line combination. On Saturday, though, Mike Johnston may have made it worthwhile.

The first thing that stands out to me about these pairings? Well, I already called them nearly two months ago when I looked at how the defensive pairings should shake out based on a bit of analytics and playing styles. The only difference is that I didn’t imagine a world in which we’d be watching five total pairings, with Rob Scuderi coming in as the ninth defenseman.

Olli Maatta and Kris Letang are the clear favorites for a top-pairing that could be fantastic for years to come. The next two can be flip-flopped, as we’re not really sure who will be considered the second pairing. Either way, I really like who’s playing together right now and see it working out nicely based on past performance.

The Pittsburgh Penguins Did Alright in Acquiring Phil Kessel

Kessel put on a show during day two of training camp in Cranberry, Pa. The Pittsburgh Penguins faithful took to Twitter in order to express how excited they were watching him show off his exactly why Jim Rutherford brought him here, which is his shot.

Many have compared Kessel to James Neal and what he did in Pittsburgh. However, those same folks are going to be shocked when they see number 81 take the ice for the first time. I’m not sure everyone has a grasp of exactly the kind of hockey player the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired in July’s trade.

There has also been a lot of conversation about whether or not he would truly help a power play unit that struggled so mightily after November last season. Well, I still have my doubts about Rick Tocchet‘s scheme and ability to place all of these superstars in the right spots. But, Kessel playing the left circle should do wonders. The Pens worked on that a bit yesterday as well.

Head Coach Mike Johnston Gets ‘It’

Almost four months ago, I visited the topic of keeping your best players on the ice, despite the situation. One of the situations the Pens need to improve the use of their stars is on the penalty kill.

Too many people view penalty killing as a niche skill that requires grinders and defensive-minded forwards. Those folks are missing the boat in a big way. Teams around the league are using players like Rick Nash, Pavel Datsyuk and Claude Giroux to kill penalties and their reaping the rewards of doing so. It keeps the opposition’s power play very honest and concerned about a shorthanded chance going the other way. Well, Mike Johnston either read my article or he knows a bit about hockey as well. I’m betting on the latter.

Malkin has spent time on the penalty kill in numerous international tournaments with Team Russia and excels at it. Sidney Crosby saw limited time in that capacity throughout his career and you can see a difference in how the opponent attacks and how aggressive they’re willing to be on the man-advantage. Mike Johnston is a great hockey mind and it’s showing in some of the decisions he has made already this season. And, it’s only day three of camp.

Speaking of day three, training camp is moving right along with the first exhibition game of the season coming tomorrow night. Keep in mind, the general rule of thumb is that we’ll see mainly fringe players and those battling for roster spots on Monday night and more big name players will make an appearance on Tuesday. We already know that Tuesday night at Consol Energy Center will be Kessel’s debut.

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