Pens Points: Time to Adjust

Friday will serve as a travel day for the Pittsburgh Penguins who will be going wheels up to St. Louis for a Saturday showdown with the St. Louis Blues. This will be the Penguins final road game of October as they begin a four game homestand next week that will take them to the end of the month before heading west.

Pens Points...

Two of the Penguins biggest failures last season are again popping up early this season. No depth scoring and a futile power play have been an Achilles heel once again. [Pensburgh]

Another issue that really made its way to the forefront on Tuesday night was the struggles of the bottom defensive pairing, another place a roster adjustment may be due. [The Hockey News]

During an intermission on Wednesday night, Kyle Dubas joined the TNT studio crew from Detroit and not so subtly hinted that more roster changes may be coming. [The Hockey News]

One of the players the Penguins could look to move on from without much issue is waiver pickup Jansen Harkins who has not been impressive in the bottom six. [The Hockey News]

Perhaps Kyle Dubas was listening to talking heads on Thursday when news broke that Harkins was indeed placed on waivers. [Pensburgh]

Reilly Smith has been a home run acquisition for Dubas and the Penguins so far and it’s only a matter of time until he’s a fan favorite if he isn’t already. [Penguins]

NHL News and Notes...

Steven Stamkos is set to return to the Tampa Bay Lightning after missing a pair of games and goalie Andrei Vasileskiy remains on track in his injury rehab. [ESPN]

Reports have surfaced the NHL is exploring the idea of a decentralized NHL Draft similar to how the NHL operates its draft. A problem caused by the NHL itself. [Pensburgh]