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Pittsburgh Penguins looking for key forward to reignite his scoring touch down crucial stretch
The Penguins need Anthony Mantha to once again find his scoring touch, as the team is about to hit a crucial stretch of their schedule and needs depth pieces.
Evgeni Malkin's trio pairing of Justin Brazeau and Anthony Mantha was one of the more intriguing combinations to start the season. There was a definite mixture of size that seemed to make them look more like they belonged in the NFL than the NHL.
But there was no disguising the skill that combination showed. In their 12 games together before Brazeau suffered his injury, Malkin accumulated three goals and 14 assists. Brazeau contributed six goals and six assists.
What Anthony Mantha did to help the Penguins get off to a hot start
Meanwhile, Mantha netted six goals and five assists. These numbers certainly helped the Penguins go 8-2-2.
Brazeau has missed more games than he has participated in, but seems to be close to a return from an injury to his upper body.
To see whether coach Dan Muse decides to look at the trio together again has yet to be determined, but certainly no scenario seems more promising to give them another try.
They may not see the same success that they experienced in October when they played together.
Why Anthony Mantha would love having Justin Brazeau back
Mantha, in particular, would welcome this reunion. His goal-scoring skills have slowed dramatically since the injury to Brazeau. He goes into their Sunday game in Dallas having gone nine games without a goal.
He has just two goals in the 14 games since the injury. That's nowhere near the production of their top six winger in general or of a guy who has three 20-goal seasons to his credit.
There have been glimpses of that, including a net-front presence on the screen that helped Ville Koivunen in scoring his first Penguins goal and first NHL goal of the season. More of the same would be welcome in Pittsburgh.
Mantha has every reason to produce in the second half of the season. At 31 years old, he has a one-year contract for $2.5 million. He'll be a free agent in the off-season.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 6 | 55 ANSWERS Pittsburgh Penguins looking for key forward to reignite his scoring touch down crucial stretch Does Anthony Mantha need to get going if the Penguins want to make the playoffs? | ||
| Yes | 49 | 89.1 % |
| No | 6 | 10.9 % |
| List of polls | ||