Mark Madden: From Friedman to Kapanen, lots to discuss about Penguins' recent lineup changes

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ 4-2 home victory over powerful Carolina on Sunday featured several lineup changes that beg further discussion.

Winger Kasperi Kapanen was a healthy scratch in Friday’s 5-2 win over Vegas, also at PPG Paints Arena. Kapanen nonetheless went right back in the lineup Sunday. Gee, I hope Kapanen learned his lesson. (He didn’t. He was mostly invisible, per usual. Zero hockey sense.)

Brock McGinn got hurt Friday. Kapanen played in his place Sunday. You know who should have? Somebody else.

Defenseman Marcus Pettersson was a healthy scratch Sunday. Not sure why. He hardly has played terrible.

But if all the defensemen are healthy, it’s difficult to sit Mark Friedman.

Friedman got a chance to play when Mike Matheson recently missed five games.

Friedman is a wild card. He’s no giant at 5-foot-11, 185 pounds. He’s not Kris Letang with the puck. He’s no better than a bottom-pair defenseman.

But Friedman stirs the pot. He scraps. He protects the net and protects his teammates, often taking on much larger opponents.

“I tend to go after the biggest guys on the ice,” he said.

If Friedman isn’t cheap, he’s certainly inexpensive. Grabbing a headlock is among his favorite moves in a scrum. He’s got a busy stick. He can be fashionably late.

Friedman has drawn 11 opposition penalties during five-on-five play. That’s tied with Sidney Crosby for fifth most on the Penguins. Crosby has played 48 games, Friedman just 19.

Friedman invokes emotion. He hasn’t yet gone too far. He’s a spark on a team that frequently seems stale, that often starts games and periods flat.

Friedman should stay in the lineup right now. But who comes out?

Pettersson did. But coach Mike Sullivan’s defensive dynamic uses lefty-righty pairs.

That suggests Chad Ruhwedel sits if Friedman plays. But Ruhwedel has done well.

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Friedman shoots right but can legitimately play the left side, and has. He and Ruhwedel have been a decent pairing.

Does Friedman’s emergence dictate a trade of, say, Pettersson? Or John Marino? Or is Friedman’s sample size yet too small?

Besides scratching Pettersson, Sullivan shook up the defensive tandems. The longtime partnership of Letang and Brian Dumoulin gave way to Letang pairing with Matheson, as happened Friday when Dumoulin was ill. Dumoulin returned Sunday, skating with Marino.

It worked fine. But expect Letang and Dumoulin to go back together soon. Letang and Matheson are a risky pair. Both take lots of chances.

Marino isn’t playing horribly, but he needs to play better. He had a great rookie season in 2019-20 but hasn’t often risen to that level since.

Radim Zohorna got a game at wing Sunday. He was pointless and played less than 10 minutes but provided energy.

Brian Boyle scored a goal Sunday. He’s been serviceable in a fringe role after not playing at all last season.

But the fear here is that Boyle gets a jersey in the playoffs no matter what. That should be dictated by injury. Boyle is not among the Penguins’ top 12 forwards when everyone is healthy. But misguided veteran respect can influence Sullivan. (See Marleau, Patrick.)

Teddy Blueger had a marvelous assist on Boyle’s goal. Blueger’s value as an extremely effective bottom-six forward can’t be overstated. Blueger is a true catalyst. If he ever scores 20 goals — and he might — he’ll double his paycheck.

Sunday’s meeting was the third and last of the regular season with Carolina, and the Penguins’ first victory over the Hurricanes.

It was arguably the worst they’ve played against Carolina, but Tristan Jarry held firm in goal. He made 41 saves, controlling his crease, rebounds and the pace of the game.

Jarry can’t erase the memories of his poor postseason performance last year in the Penguins’ first-round loss to the New York Islanders until he wins a playoff series. In fact, he evoked memories of that debacle with a near-costly puck-handling mistake Sunday.

But he’s a better goaltender now than then and a tougher goaltender.

Much ado has been made about the Penguins’ recent stretch of games vs. top teams. It began March 3 with a 5-1 beating of host Tampa Bay, arguably the Penguins’ best game this season.

The Penguins are 3-1-1 since and including, but wins Friday and Sunday over Vegas and Carolina, respectively, smacked more of survival than excellence.

That’s OK. The playoffs are about survival and about occasionally winning despite not playing great. The Penguins are passing that test.