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Penguins top six grades tell one story and it starts with Egor Chinakhov
Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Egor Chinakhov’s spark has the Pittsburgh Penguins top six scoring, and the Olympic break hits at the worst moment.
In the first X post, Pensburgh takes a step back and starts grading the roster, opening with the top six.
It is hard to argue with the results when the offense has jumped from mid-pack to the league’s upper tier.
Pittsburgh is at 3.41 goals per game, tied for fourth in the NHL as the break begins.
That is the backdrop for every letter grade, because top-six finishing can cover a lot of warts.
Here is the report card thread.
The second X post flips the lens to Chinakhov and turns it into a simple over/under game for the rest of the season.
Egor Chinakhov lifts the Pittsburgh Penguins top six
I get why fans are cautious, but this team finally feels dangerous again when the big lines hop over the boards.
Chinakhov is 25, drafted in 2020, Round 1, by the Columbus Blue Jackets, and he plays like a guy who has been waiting for trust.
Since arriving, he has 8 goals and 12 points in his first 18 games in black and gold.
That same Pensburgh piece notes a shooting percentage north of 20%, so regression is coming, but the shot volume and rush looks are real.
Their line with Evgeni Malkin and Tommy Novak has tilted the ice, and it has helped keep Pittsburgh’s goals per game in the T-4 conversation.
Pensburgh sets the rest-of-season over/under at 7.5 more goals over the final 26 games, which feels fair if his heater cools.
Now the Penguins just have to restart clean after the break and keep the man advantage rolling.
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