Sep 22, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing
Phil Kessel(81) shoots the puck as Carolina Hurricanes left wing
Nathan Gerbe(14) and goalie Cam Ward (30) defend during the first period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
3. Pittsburgh Penguins
Ranking the Pittsburgh Penguins as third in the Metro is a change from where I stood a few months ago. After the acquisition of Phil Kessel from Toronto, followed by Nick Bonino and Adam Clendening from Vancouver and the free agent signing of Eric Fehr, I jumped the Pens to second behind only the Columbus Blue Jackets. But, while I don’t put too much stock into preseason, the poor play of Derrick Pouliot has Pittsburgh scrambling to figure out their defensive pairs and it’s a bit concerning right now.
Pouliot was viewed as a top-four defenseman and expected to play alongside Ian Cole in that role. However, he has since been assigned to the AHL and the Penguins are searching for answers. One of the answers in their minds is to once again deploy Rob Scuderi in their top-six, which is another reason for concern on this blue line. Scuderi was repeatedly torched throughout preseason play and when you consider that he was facing less-than-optimal competition, you understand where I’m coming from.
Pittsburgh’s offense can very well carry them and place them among the league’s best. Therefore, I still consider them a team with a shot at winning the division but they have to prove some things before I can rank them above Washington and Columbus. There’s also the fact that Pittsburgh has been horrendous against the rest of the Metro. If they continue that same trend in 2015-16 they could very well be fighting for a bottom seed once again.
Next: Washington Capitals