It’s Time For Penguins GM Kyle Dubas To Make Some Calls

On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Penguins put forth one of their best efforts of the season in a 5-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers, one of the top teams in the league. And they followed that up with one of their worst performances of the season in a 5-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

And then, on Sunday, it was an all-too-familiar example of a “coulda, shoulda, woulda” toss-up against the Tampa Bay Lightning that didn’t end up going the Penguins’ way.

If Pittsburgh’s one-month run prior to the holiday break was indicative of anything, it’s that the team is capable of more than their 18-19-8 record suggests. They are quickly falling in the Eastern Conference standings – currently at sixth in the wild card race – and have played more games than almost everyone else.

At this point, the current Penguins’ lineup is just not getting it done.

Granted, some recent injuries and uncertainties with the defensive corps and, now, their top-six forwards – Evgeni Malkin was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury on Sunday, and Michael Bunting missed Sunday’s game against the Lightning after being involved in a car accident prior to the game – certainly aren’t helping matters.

Simply put: The Penguins have some better options in their system at the AHL level right now than what they are currently deploying at the NHL level.

So, it’s time for GM and POHO Kyle Dubas to make some calls.

Let’s take a look at each positional group and what the Penguins can do to improve each.

Forwards

At this juncture, the depth scoring that the Penguins were getting in the first half of the season has all but dried up.

Anthony Beauvillier had six goals in his first 19 games – shifting between a top-six role and a third-line role on an offensive-minded…