West coast trips should be good bonding experience

PITTSBURGH — When a hockey team takes an extended trip, it’s always presented as a good bonding experience.
Given the two west coast trips the Penguins have already made, they should be as close as brothers at this point.
Who knows if there’s value to the togetherness. Last-place teams have long trips, too.
The results haven’t been great, but the best news to emerge during the current trip is the return of defenseman Olli Maatta. He hasn’t been around long, but it seems like his career is already a bit star-crossed with a variety of ailments and injuries that have taken away playing time.
Maatta is a key player for the Penguins, a gifted defenseman who can help at both ends of the rink. With Kris Letang struggling through the first quarter of the season, the Penguins need all the help they can get on defense.
Losing Brooks Orpik, Paul Martin and Matt Niskanen over two seasons has taken a significant toll.
Maatta deserves a prominent spot in the lineup. Keeping him healthy enough to play is the challenge.
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First there was much consternation over whether Daniel Sprong would stay in the NHL rather than return to his junior team.
That was settled when the Penguins decided to keep Sprong, believing that his talent more than offset his inexperience.
Now the issue is when he’ll get to play.
He hasn’t dressed for a game since Nov. 17. That seems odd given the belief the Penguins have in his potential.
But, when a coach is tasked with an urgency to win games, most will opt on the side of experience. It’s not like the Penguins are in a rebuilding mode.
Still, it seems like a waste to keep Sprong in Pittsburgh if his only ice time is going to be in practice. He needs to play.
Yes, he’ll make some mistakes. All rookies do that, and veterans know how to exploit an opposing player’s inexperience.
That’s all part of the process, though. There’s value in practice, but a player won’t learn the way he will from playing in games. The tempo and intensity of a game can’t be duplicated in practice, no matter how spirited it is.
All is not lost, though. It’s a long season, and hockey is a rough game. There will undoubtedly be injuries along the way, and that could give Sprong a chance to crack the lineup.
Once he gets in and gets a chance to play some meaningful minutes, his talent should shine.
The Penguins have done a poor job of developing talent at the forward positions. Sprong has a chance to reverse that trend.
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Interesting to see Evgeni Malkin emerge as a leader.
Malkin took charge in some recent games, using his considerable talent to raise the level of the entire team.
Afterwards, Malkin said that he considers himself one of the Penguins’ leaders.
His work so far this season raises an interesting hypothetical question:
If the Penguins faced an either/or decision on Sidney Crosby and Malkin, which one would they keep?
It’s easy to underestimate Crosby because of his sub-par production this season, but it’s a topic for some interesting debate.
If Malkin is truly interested in stepping up and taking responsibility for more than his own play, the Crosby-or-Malkin question is not one that can be answered easily.