The Penguins are set to return to action tomorrow night after a predictably miserable trip to Western Canada. The team just isn’t good and the top-heavy approach just doesn’t work as well when those players are 38 and 37 years old.

Things have been rough and as of today Mike Sullivan is breaking the glass in case of emergency for what I believe is the first time. Evgeni Malkin will join Sidney Crosby on the wing.

Alright. Here are your new #LetsGoPens line combos:

Malkin-Crosby-Rakell
OC-Eller-Acciari
Beauvillier-Hayes-Puljujarvi
Bunting-Glass-Puustinen

Pettersson-Letang
Grzelcyk-Karlsson
Graves-St. Ivany

(No idea what the line order is supposed to be beyond the first)

— Kelsey Surmacz (@kelsey_surmacz4) October 28, 2024

Joining Crosby and Malkin for this monumental occasion is Rickard Rakell. This is a situation where the Penguins are putting all their eggs in one basket to try and get something going. With Bryan Rust hurt they can’t really stretch things too far so we’ve arrived at a new destination with the lines. If nothing else it will be enjoyable to see both Crosby and Malkin sharing ice time at 5v5 because the season is already at the brink of a lost cause if things don’t drastically change.

Even with things being pretty bad I don’t think firing Mike Sullivan will do anything. It’s a bad roster and the GM isn’t even trying to win this season and perhaps next. You’d just be hiring a lame duck coach who wouldn’t be here once the team turned a corner. You might as well let Mike Sullivan bottom out and make the change when things turn a corner. The time for firing him was three years ago or so. At this point it is whatever.

Tomorrow marks the return of The Flower. Marc-Andre Fleury will be playing in his last game in Pittsburgh. It should be a special occasion.

Thanks for reading!

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