It seems like once something starts to look promising for the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, they suffer some sort of setback. A lot has gone wrong for the Black and Gold to begin their campaign, and most of that has been due to some of their headliner names not coming through.
Many players who the Penguins were counting on to play pivotal roles just haven't been able to produce at a high enough level.
This hasn't been the start to the season that Sidney Crosby was desiring. It's been a rough beginning for Crosby, and he's one of the surprising question marks to this point in the schedule. Other star wingers, big signings from the offseason, and rising prospects have not lived up to their billing. Pittsburgh needs these players to turn things around in a hurry if they want to rebound.
Sidney Crosby leads the most disappointing start to the season for the Pittsburgh Penguins
Rickard Rakell
With how many injuries have hampered the Penguins lineup, many hoped Rickard Rakell would pick up the slack. Sadly, that hasn't happened and not only is he a red flag in the top six for the Penguins, but they have little options to replace him internally. Rumors are swirling around Rakell's name in trade rumors, and it makes sense for him to leave town, but his trade value is probably at an all-time low.
Bryan Rust
He's normally good when it comes to not getting injured, but this season has been different for Bryan Rust. The star winger has only appeared in five contests this year, and he has been solid when he's in the lineup. The biggest issue is that Rust has struggled to stay healthy to this point. It's still early on, but with trade rumors also percolating around his name, this could be a tough season for him.
Declan Carlile
He was one of their biggest bets during the offseason to turn into a diamond in the rough for the Penguins.
Unfortunately for Declan Carlile and the Penguins, this move has blown up in their faces. Carlile has been unplayable in recent weeks, and there seems to be no solution in sight. Both parties would be better off if Carlile sat on the bench and other internal options were afforded the chance to keep him out of the lineup while Carlile worked on his game.
Egor Chinakhov
He's missed some time this season, but Egor Chinakhov has been much less noticeable this year when he is on the ice. It makes no sense after his breakout campaign with Pittsburgh last year, and it's not like his linemates have changed that much. The biggest issue with Chinakhov has been his lack of goal scoring. He's only sunk two pucks in the back of the net; that's not enough for this team.
Sidney Crosby
You can look for a lot of blame to go around elsewhere besides Sidney Crosby, but the captain has been an issue.
He isn't producing at the level that this club needs him to in order for them to succeed. Beyond that, his linemates on the top line are not doing him any favors. Perhaps Father Time is finally catching up to Crosby, or maybe the franchise icon needs a little bit of time to get into the swing of things.
Sergei Murashov
Saying that either goalie in Pittsburgh is a reason for their failures might seem unfair, especially with how they've battled to keep the team in games when they have no business being in them.
That being said, Sergei Murashov is at a point in the early season where it's becoming safe to say he's been disappointing compared to how he was advertised. He has time to turn things around, but it hasn't been the fairytale story we were led to believe going into the season.
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