The Penguins got a very important win last against the division leading Devils but all things being said how on earth does Evgeni Malkin only play 12:51 seconds against a team like the New Jersey Devils. That is a disgrace for Malkin to play under 13 minutes. I mean comon those are Johnny Vermont ice times. Michel Therrien has done a great job in recent weeks, including putting Malkin on Sid’s line late in the third against Chicago but here are the three issues i still have a problem with in regards to Therrien’s coaching philosophy.
1. Not enough ice time for Sid and Malkin during overtime: When the Penguins go into overtime, fans are lucky to see Crosby and Malkin out their twice. Michel Therrien comes out with 4 groups of forwards and sometimes throws a 5th group before Sid gets out their again. Therrien can not rely on getting the win in the shootout. Four on Four equals open ice and the best player in the game should be out their every other shift in a overtime sequence.
2. Scuderi & Melichar playing with the top 2 lines: Their should never be a situation unless it’s late in the game that Scuderi and Melichar should be out with Crosby’s or Malkins line. Creating offense is all about the defenseman’ s ability to break the puck up the ice out of the defensive zones. The Penguins have two great puck moving defenseman but at times i notice Scuderi and Melichar will be out their with Sid or Malkin.
3. Malkin’s ice time: Last night was not the only time i was watching a game and was wondering when is Malkin going to hit the ice. We can even question that Crosby should avg a few more minutes per more. The team is clicking on all cylinders but the way the 4th line is playing right now is not going to last forever. I’m all about running four lines but sometimes Therrien does it in the wrong situations and doesn’t shorten the bench enough.
