The Pittsburgh Penguins need these two players to show up in Game 4

In their quest for a third straight Stanley Cup, the Penguins are really missing two main cogs of their lineup, and they need them to play well in Game 4.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are on the precipice for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. They find themselves down 2-1 in their best of seven series against the Washington Capitals after Alex Ovechkin scored late in Game 3 to win the game. Unfortunately, there’s been a lot of noise about basically every factor other than the gameplay on the ice so far.

First, we had the goal/no goal controversy in Game 2 when it appeared the Penguins snuck one by Capitals goalie Braden Holtby. It was not to be, and it left many wondering about the call when there were pictures that seemed to show the puck across the line. In addition, Capitals forward Tom Wilson got himself suspended after delivering a hit that concussed and broke the jaw of Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese.

With all the off-ice controversy surrounding this series, it’s gone largely unnoticed that Penguins forwards Phil Kessel and Derick Brassard have basically been invisible. Through Game 3, these two players have combined for exactly one point, an assist from Kessel. That’s not going to cut it, to say the least. The Penguins are not playing very smart hockey. Matt Murray’s glove isn’t the best in the league. The Capital’s third goal in Game 3 was particularly egregious. None of that matters if Kessel and Brassard continue to do nothing.

One of the biggest strengths of the Penguins the past two playoff runs has been their ability to roll three scoring lines all game long. In 2016, it was the HBK line of Carl Hagelin, Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino to provide support for the big two lines. Last year, it was Jake Guentzel coming out of nowhere to score 13 goals on the way to the second Cup. This year so far, it’s been Guentzel, Sidney Crosby and not much else. Evgeni Malkin has been up and down and has missed a couple games due to injury. He’s also racked up 14 penalty minutes, high isn’t exactly helpful. Patric Hornqvist is the only other forward pulling their weight so far, at least for what should be expected.

The Penguins need Kessel to start scoring goals. That’s what he’s here to do because as much as fans love the scruffy guy who looks like he could be your uncle, he doesn’t bring a lot to the table outside of offensive ability. The popular theory is Kessel is hurt. That’s likely true at this time of the year but maybe he shouldn’t be in the lineup if he’s unable to contribute. He’s not doing the Pens much good right now. The speed and explosiveness that is his hallmark haven’t shown up yet. The flip side is there is nobody waiting in the wings that could replace what Kessel brings when he’s playing well.

The Pens paid a hefty price for Brassard to pry him away from the Ottawa Senators. He may not have been expected to light up the scoreboard, but a zero in the conference semifinals wasn’t in the cards either. He’s at least helping on the face-off dot, winning over 50 percent of his draws. He’s also a minus-1 this series. Plus/minus is a bit of a flawed system, to be sure. It’s still not great to see a player like Brassard with no points and a minus player.

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The Penguins have the talent to win a third straight Cup this summer. However, if some of them don’t start playing up to their ability, it’s not going to be a much deeper playoff run. The Pens need Kessel and Brassard to show up in a big way in Game 4 to get this series even at two games headed back to Washington.