Few of these pairings stuck.īut with Zucker back, and Rakell potentially skating on the first line, the Penguins will have the opportunity to return to a previously successful option which we have barely seen over the past year: a second line of Zucker, Malkin and Bryan Rust. Malkin ended up playing alongside everyone from Brock McGinn to Evan Rodrigues to Rickard Rakell in 2021-22. Zucker’s injury and Kasperi Kapanen’s slide to the bottom six, and eventually a healthy scratch, left the second line in flux. That almost certainly was not what the Penguins intended when they picked Heinen up as a free agent in summer 2021. In 2021-22, Malkin’s most consistent linemate at 5v5 was Danton Heinen. Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Evgeni Malkin skates with Danton Heinen and Kasperi Kapanen during Game 5 of the first round against the host New York Rangers on May 11.

He has likely not been fully healthy, excepting the five minutes during which he registered an assist in his return, since at least December 2021, when he started missing practices due to a nagging core issue.įinally adding Zucker back to the lineup could mean a reliable linemate for Evgeni Malkin for the first time in over a year. Over the past two seasons, Zucker has skated in 79 of the Penguins’ 138 regular-season games. Teammates in sickness and in health /FNdtoXiy1P- Pittsburgh Penguins April 1, 2022

Watch new jason bourne online