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It's been a good start to the season for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Good, not great. The Pens are 2-2, scoring 14 goals in that span while giving up 12. Evgeni Malkin looks closer to the version of himself that won the Hart Trophy a decade ago, scoring three goals and seven points through four contests. Jake Guentzel has a goal and five helpers, while Sidney Crosby has been good for three goals and two assists. Erik Karlsson has also been chipping in, adding a goal and four points of his own in a promising start to the Swede's Norris Trophy-defending season.
There are certainly encouraging signs throughout the lineup, and the early signs are that this team will have no trouble competing for a postseason spot in the Metropolitan Division. Tristan Jarry already has a shutout under his belt, and he's played great for two of his three starts. Although the veteran star power is showing up early, there are a few complementary players who are looking to make an impact as the Penguins try to avoid back-to-back playoff misses for the first time in nearly 20 years. Here are two forwards with breakout potential in 2023-24.
Reilly Smith enjoying his new home
Although the spotlight has been on the excellence of Malkin, Crosby and Guentzel in the early going, offseason trade acquisition and Stanley Cup champion Reilly Smith has quickly acclimated to his new home. The 32-year-old Canadian has scored at a point-per-game pace through four contests, with an equal number of goals and assists in that span. He's lining up with Malkin and Rickard Rakell on the second line and loving it; it's an excellent opportunity for a player who saw his role diminish season after season with the Vegas Golden Knights, to the point where he was skating on the third line at times on the Strip. That was just the reality of going from a 2018 team sending out a top line of Smith-Jonathan Marchessault-William Karlsson, to adding stars Mark Stone and Jack Eichel years later.
Still, Smith was a big part of the 2023 Stanley Cup team, adding four goals and 14 points over 22 playoff games. And now he's entering the next chapter of his career playing with one of the best players of the last generation, while skating on the second powerplay unit with Bryan Rust, Jeff Carter, Kris Letang and Jansen Harkins. Suffice it to say, there's huge breakout potential for the Toronto native. He's averaging 15:23 time on ice per game, which could also improve and help his offensive totals. Although Malkin, Crosby and Guentzel are a lock on PP1, there's a chance that coach Mike Sullivan will explore a different forward other than Rakell on the first powerplay unit. They already started the season with Letang and Karlsson both on the top unit, and that's no longer the case as of Oct. 20. Clearly, things are fluid, and if Reilly Smith can find a way onto that powerplay (and even if he doesn't), there's huge potential for him to eclipse his career-high of 60 points this season.
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Drew O'Connor can breakout despite slow start
Drew O'Connor exceeded expectations last season with the Penguins as he finally broke through as an everyday NHL player. The 25-year-old played 46 games, adding five goals and 11 points in the team's bottom-nine. He easily made the opening night team this year, and has been skating on the third line with Lars Eller and Harkins through the first four games.
“I think I feel a little bit more established at this level,” O'Connor said before the season started. “Looking to continue to evolve my game…I feel good after the preseason and ready to go for the regular season.”
O'Connor was excellent in the preseason, tallying four goals and five points and highlighting the exhibition with a two-goal performance in a 7-4 Penguins win over the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 6, the team's final game. He even skated on the top line with Crosby and Rust in that contest. But the regular-season is a completely different beast, and the former New Jersey Junior Titan has struggled in the early going. Averaging just 11:50 TOI a night, O'Connor has failed to record a point through his team's first four. But it's a long campaign, and despite the tough start, there's belief he can breakout and shatter his career-high of 11 points this year. I expect he'll be a more important member of the forward core as the season progresses, especially if there are any injuries up front.
Although the spotlight is and will remain on the superstar veteran core, both Reilly Smith and Drew O'Connor could be a huge boost to Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup aspirations this season.
