Over the course of the week, the Pittsburgh Penguins room can be a boisterous place. Despite some losses that simply viewing them may have caused some gastronomic distress, on the inside, the early-season frustrations have largely been offset by the early-season optimism.

That feeling began to turn Friday night in Columbus as the winless streak hit three games and the Penguins appear no closer to answers for their inept defense, disjointed lines, and paltry effort. As part of the week of dressing room conversations, PHN spoke with Declan Carlile about the gaggle of mistakes that have drowned the Penguins, followed up on our deep conversation with Ville Koivunen from the end of last season. And some players are making their own line combinations and trying to work coach Dan Muse in their favor.

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Still, the lethargy for most of the first 40 minutes Friday was striking to the team and the coach.

“I thought we found our game more in the third period, but you can’t just play for 20 minutes. When (Bryan Rust) scored that goal, we built momentum off of it, and we carried into the third period,” said coach Dan Muse. “But when you’re not generating, and you’re spending as much time defending as we did for almost two periods, it becomes difficult to get yourself back to where you want to be.”

There was a sense of confusion Friday night. It wasn’t frustration and wasn’t exasperation, but the team seemed to be sharing a cocktail of anger, bewilderment and patience.

Ville Koivunen

Last season, PHN talked with Koivunen and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach Kirk MacDonald in February. The team had not yet gone on its lengthy playoff run, but Koivunen was dealing with another demotion and the results of a summer regimen that didn’t meet standards. His confidence was clearly a bit rattled, at least as it pertained to being in the NHL.

Our conversation veered from getting stronger by spending more time in the weight room to his NHL game missing the very physical and agitating elements that were so prevalent in his AHL game.

“I want to do more (chirping and agitating). But I feel like if you see something first, you can do it. It feels like if you don’t do it enough first, then it’s like no one cares,” Koivunen said. “What are you going to say there? So, I think, first you have to be better on the ice and stuff, and then you can maybe start doing that more.”

Koivunen’s body language and acknowledgment shouted his lack of confidence. But through the darkness of this abysmal start to the Penguins season, the real Koivunen is beginning to emerge. His chippy on-ice demeanor has agitated opponents; the extra-legal stick work at net and behind the play, the staredowns, and the chirps that even he admits guys probably can’t understand what he said.

Friday morning, PHN circled back to the Koivunen’s core issues and found a player starting to feel confident enough to bring more of his game. He simply smiled when we mentioned bringing more physicality, but he also admitted to finding his way.

Koivunen still deals with a bit of a language barrier, and he can jump around, but his meaning was clear enough. After the Philadelphia blowout win, it’s been a process.

“Big game with (Montreal, Game 2) was starting well. It wasn’t good on the second part. It was like an okay game. Well, (the game vs. Winnipeg) wasn’t that good. It wasn’t that good for the whole team either way,” Koivunen said. “So they played well, but yeah, the last game (against Washington) was (my) best game for sure.”

If Koivunen weren’t waiver-eligible this season and had not received an eight-year contract, perhaps his status on the roster and team would be different. Perhaps not. After all, he’s a playmaking winger who can infuriate opponents. But he is proving the idea that young players need time in the NHL to complete their development.

Some players are naturally confident, like Ben Kindel, and others have to scrap their way to feeling like they belong. Which was the last question we asked Koivunen. Does he feel like he belongs now?

“Oh yeah.”

Declan Carlile

Carlile was very good in the first three games, but the turnover virus sweeping the Penguins also infected him in the 5-3 loss to Washington Wednesday.

The Penguins signed Carlile on July 1, and general manager Kyle Dubas admitted in his season preview press conference that the front office had kicked itself for not claiming him on waivers when they had the chance last season. Despite being 26, Carlisle has not yet been through a full NHL season—he was a depth piece pressed into duty last season in Tampa Bay.

But the Penguins have recently specialized in finding those defensemen. Parker Wotherspoon and Ryan Shea are recent examples. But exactly how does Carlile shake off the recent rough stretch?

“Yeah, I think we have a good D-corps back here, and I don’t think that’s going to weigh on us too much. It’s early in the year,” Carlile said. “We’re still learning, getting with each other, trying to learn things like that. So, yeah, I think we’re just ready for the night and excited to move forward.”

Of course, Carlile has a unique challenge. There are not many defensemen in the league who play the smooth, free-flowing game like Erik Karlsson. Some defensemen can quickly adapt and fill in beside Karlsson. Others look more like a dog chasing parked cars.

“No, it’s great. Obviously, he’s one of a kind, so it’s great,” said Carlisle. “I think it took a little bit, as it does without anyone new. Obviously, he’s a pretty high-caliber player, so just trying to follow and read off him (so it) makes it pretty easy for him. So it’s been good. No problems.”

Carlile also has a career-high two goals and four points, accomplished in just five games.

Overheard in the Room

What if there was a winger who wants to play center who played with one of the Penguins wingers a few years ago and it worked very well until the former Penguins coach broke up the line, but the players still remember?

Since the on-the-record nature of the conversation was gray area, take it with a grain of salt as Evgeni Malkin jumped into our conversation with Rust. We began by joking with Rust, asking if he had any experience playing with his new linemate, Sidney Crosby.

“You should play with me,” Malkin jumped in.

Rust is never one to let a good comment go unanswered.

“I’m trying. I told Muse,” Rust shot back.

It was lighthearted, but there was definitely an undercurrent of seriousness, too. Perhaps it’s fuzzy memories for a lot of us who think that might be a good idea. Indeed, from the 2021-22 season through the ’22-23 season, the pair had excellent analytics. They were well into the black with shot attempts, goals, and scoring chances.

However, over the last three seasons, they’ve spent only 200 minutes together and posted awful analytics to the tune of a 45% shot share, 43% of goals-for, and a 42% scoring chance rate.

Of course, such a move would require either moving Malkin back to center, an idea he would probably endorse, or moving Egor Chinakhov off the line with Malkin and Tommy Novak. An idea Malkin probably would not endorse. Chinakhov and Malkin were undeniably connected for significant parts of the Penguins’ shootout loss to Columbus Friday, and they created more offensive pressure than most of the forwards combined.

But if Malkin continues playing on his toes, and the Penguins keep struggling, who knows? At this point, it’s just crazy enough to work.

Tags:declan carlile Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh Penguins Ville Koivunen

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