You want behind-the-scenes looks at what goes on with the Pittsburgh Penguins as they walk the line between putting a competitive team on the ice and retooling for the future? Coach Dan Muse offered a glimpse on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
In one sound bite, he revealed the good, the bad and the tough moments that have gone on away from the spotlight.<\/p>\n
Of course, that description could also apply to the game the Penguins had just played fully in the spotlight \u2013 the good being a 6-5 win<\/a> over the Montreal Canadiens in their home opener to move to 2-0-0, the bad being a blown 5-1 lead and needing overtime for the two points. Perhaps the toughest moment came beforehand.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when, with Ben Kindel coming back from injury and newcomer Andrei Kuzmenko coming back from a personal leave to both make their season debuts, Muse had to make a difficult lineup decision with his forwards. He opted to dump 23-year-old Ville Koivunen from the group who got game jerseys.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are tough decisions,\u201d Muse said. \u201cI think that\u2019s a good problem to have. A lot of good players. Taking Ville out of the lineup was a really hard decision. He didn\u2019t deserve to come out. That\u2019s a tough thing to do as a coach, to have that conversation, to look him in the eye and tell him he\u2019s coming out of the lineup after he had a great summer, after he\u2019s done everything that we\u2019ve asked out of him. But the reality is, we have other guys that are coming back, that are healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n Yeah, sometimes reality smacks you in the face.<\/p>\n Koivunen, he of the eight-year, $32 million contract extension, who had a goal and was plus-3 in the Penguins\u2019 season-opening 7-0 win at Philadelphia in the season opener, was out, and who knows when he might get back in?<\/p>\n Muse\u2019s words conjured a good example of what in the literary world is known as imagery \u2013 he painted a picture of that conversation, and it\u2019s easy to imagine the look on both the coach\u2019s and player\u2019s faces.<\/p>\n This is what it\u2019s going to be like, or at least it would seem that way.<\/p>\n Decisions, they\u2019ve made a few already.<\/p>\n It\u2019s early, but the trend is what some predicted or even dreaded \u2013 prospects are being blocked, their development perhaps stalled as they play in the American Hockey League or are scratched from the NHL lineup.<\/p>\n Hendrix Lapierre, one of the newcomers, seemingly bumped Koivunen out of the lineup. Also out was 25-year old towering winger Elmer Soderblom. And with forwards Bryan Rust and Justin Brazeau still to return from injury, there will be more tough conversations ahead.<\/p>\n For now, those lineup discussions don\u2019t include prospects such as Tristan Broz and Rutger McGroarty, who are in AHL Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s just the forwards. With half of the defensemen in the lineup being newcomers \u2013 Declan Carlile, Kaeden Korczak and Trever van Riemsdyk \u2013 Ilya Solovyov took a seat. That group has relegated defensemen Harrison Brunicke and Owen Pickering to Wilkes-Barre.<\/p>\n Even at goaltender, the Penguins have choices. Arturs Silovs has started the first two games. Sergei Murashov could well make his season debut Monday against the Winnipeg Jets. And by all accounts the Penguins still like the potential of Joel Blomqvist, who is in Wilkes-Barre.<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s hard to argue with two wins in two games, but are those the right decisions not only for now, but also for the future? Are trades becoming more likely sooner rather than later? Making those decisions is why president of hockey operations\/general manager Kyle Dubas and Muse get paid the big bucks.<\/p>\n Those decisions also are prime fodder for fans and analysts to judge. That\u2019s how it works. That\u2019s a cornerstone of the sports world. Feel free to weigh in below in the comments section.<\/p>\n As for the Penguins\u2019 brass, they like the place they are in, tough calls and blocked prospects and all.<\/p>\n \u201cSo those are really hard decisions,\u201d Muse said. \u201cThose are good problems to have. It\u2019s about as competitive as it gets right now in terms of that competition for roles, for ice time, for playing, and so while it does make it \u2013 I don\u2019t want to say tough \u2013 it\u2019s the situation. And it\u2019s a good problem to have.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags:Dan Muse<\/a> Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> Shelly Anderson<\/a> Ville Koivunen<\/a><\/p>\n