After starting the 2015-16 NHL season with a 0-3 skid, the Pittsburgh Penguins have now reeled off two-straight victories and will look to reach .500 for the first time this season on Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers. A big early season frustration for the entire franchise and a factor that seemingly led directly to the team's poor immediate showing has been the limited output from big offseason addition Phil Kessel (1 G, 1A) and the complete lack of production from linemate and All World captain, Sidney Crosby - this is just the second time in his 11-year career that Crosby's gone goalless and pointless in five straight games. Considering the overall talent level of the two players in question, there's no doubting that the goals will come and they'll come in bunches, whether or not Crosby really is struggling to deal with the weight of the expectations around him. But will issues like the two players' preferred playing styles and the as-of-yet undeveloped trust that builds over time between a new player and a new team and a new city, continue to hinder the Pens and Kessel and Crosby for some time this season?
"It's early. But Kessel's game is transition, or moving away from the puck to find space for an open shot. Crosby likes to play tight to his teammates, set up that 10-foot pass for a goal," an unnamed NHL coach told Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet recently, before adding that Kessel and Crosby's games are not compatible "yet."
As the unnamed coach notes, Kessel's game has always been about transition, about speed through the neutral zone and about working to an area of the ice where he can fire off an uncontested shot. For Crosby, it's more about the passing - the tight, crisp lines and doing the dirty work that result in goals down low that are often pretty, even if the work that creates them isn't. In the end, the chemistry the Penguins hope will develop between the two players is entirely dependent on Crosby and Kessel's willingness to come together on a style that more accurately reflects both of their strengths. Unfortunately, it may take some time before Kessel feels comfortable enough with Crosby, with the city of Pittsburgh, with Penguins head coach Mike Johnston, to alter his own game to match what the team needs.
"Because he is such a quiet player, it takes coaches a really long time to get to know him," former Toronto Maple Leafs coach Peter Horachek said of Kessel, per Friedman. "And the reason why is that he doesn't trust very easily. There has to be an opportunity for a coach to spend time...with him over a whole season to get him to trust you."
Horachek also cautioned against calling Kessel out, something that could become an issue in Pittsburgh if he and Crosby can't figure out how to connect and the Penguins captain is forced to push Kessel into a certain playing style or demand certain actions of him during a game.
And yet with all this, the outlook in Pittsburgh could hardly be considered anything but positive. Even with early issues and Crosby looking like a guy with the weight of the Steel City on his shoulders, the Penguins are 2-3 and playing well enough to cover up their, likely short-lived, deficiencies. Seven goals through five games, a total that puts them 28th in the league, is not good enough. Neither is a power play that has yet to convert this season.
But what should give hope to Pens fans is the fact that the team's penalty kill and defense have stepped up enough to keep the Penguins competitive through an early rough stretch - no goals? That's OK, because Pittsburgh is second in the league in goals against, having allowed only nine markers - and even more importantly, the 33.4 shots per game the team is averaging, the fourth-highest average in the league, should mean plenty more goals in the not-too-distant future.
The relationship and hopefully budding chemistry between Crosby and Kessel is something that bears watching because for the move to pay off for Pittsburgh and GM Jim Rutherford, the pair will need to combine for not just a good season, but genuine fireworks that help propel the franchise deep into the playoffs. It doesn't have to be in Florida on a Tuesday night, but it will need to come and it will need to be consistent. In all likelihood, it will come; it's just a matter of when. It's a working relationship that will have to develop organically and despite the outside pressure of fans and the media and despite the egos of two star players pushed together in a manner neither has dealt with before.
Can it work? Absolutely. Will it? That, unfortunately, is a question to which we won't know the answer for some time.
