Penguins', Islanders' depth already being tested

Evgeni Malkin is a lot of things.

An All-Star. An Olympian. A Stanley Cup champion.

Obviously, it’s not an easy task trying to replace him in the lineup.

As it happens, his replacement, at least in the context of the team’s second line, is all of those things too.

Jeff Carter.

With Malkin absent for Game 1 of their first-round series with the New York Islanders on Sunday, the Penguins promoted Carter — who has a handful of Stanley Cup rings and an Olympic gold medal stowed away in a sock drawer or a vault somewhere — to the second line. During the third period, Carter, a two-time All-Star, helped set up a game-tying goal.

This is the embarrassment of riches the Penguins currently have, even as Malkin tries to convalesce from his creaky right knee that forced him to also miss 23 games during the late stages of the regular season.

Such depth is certainly a luxury. But it’s essentially a necessity for any team to go on a successful run deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has seen it first-hand.

During his team’s run to the 2009 Stanley Cup Final, former All-Stars such as forward Miroslav Satan and defenseman Philippe Boucher were relegated to reserve roles. And during the back-to-back Stanley Cup championship wins in 2016 and 2017, the likes of defensemen Olli Maatta and Mark Streit were healthy scratches on more than one occasion.

It’s debatable if the current edition of the club has the depth those teams had, but considering steady veterans such as defenseman Chad Ruhwedel and forward Colton Sceviour are bound to be healthy scratches for the foreseeable future, the Penguins seem pretty confident in the talent they have accumulated for this postseason.

“It’s a strength of ours for sure,” Crosby said via video conference. “We’ve got every line that can contribute. On defense, we’ve got a lot of different pairs that can go out there and do the job, both defensively and offensively. Our goalie depth has shown all year too.”

How exactly can you tell if a team is deep? Is it just a matter of glancing at a lineup sheet or is it more nuanced than just looking at things on paper?

“The easiest way is to look at the types of guys that are, say, on a third line or a fourth line and think, ‘Geez, on some other teams, they would maybe be on (the top two lines),’” Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson said. “That’s where you can really evaluate depth. We’re really fortunate to have a lot of guys that are great hockey players up and down the lineup where if we need to, we can roll four lines and six (defensemen) and maybe worry a little bit less about matchups and things like that and have everybody in the game.

“That’s where depth really presents itself. For other teams trying to match up against (an opponent) with a lot of depth is really difficult. If you’re using your shutdown line against one line in particular, then you’re leaving opportunity for the other lines to take advantage.”

Depth isn’t just restricted to volume. It’s sometimes about variety.

“If you all have the same type of player, I don’t know if I would consider that to be real deep,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “You’ve got to have a little bit of the grit. You’ve got to have a little bit of the skill. You’ve got to have puck-movers, defenders. And you’ve got to have experience and (youth). It’s balance right through. That’s really how I evaluate the depth of an organization or a team.”

Only one game into this series, both teams are seeing their depth being put to the test. Malkin participated in practice on Monday but did not take part in line rushes or power-play drills. Coach Mike Sullivan labeled Malkin as “day to day.”

Additionally, defenseman Brian Dumoulin and goaltender Casey DeSmith were absent. According to Sullivan, Dumoulin had a “maintenance day” while DeSmith continues to recover from an undisclosed injury that hobbled him late in the season.

As for the Islanders — who have been missing the services of captain Anders Lee since March 11 due to a knee injury — starting goaltender Semyon Varlamov participated in an optional practice Monday after missing Sunday’s game as a precaution due to an undisclosed injury.

In his place, rookie Ilya Sorokin made 39 saves in a 4-3 overtime win.

“One thing that we think we have is two capable goalies,” Trotz said. “If want to have any success, we’re going to need both of them. We just said … let’s do what’s right. Let’s not risk anything here. Let’s be cautious.”

Again, it’s a luxury. And a necessity.

“You don’t have success without having depth,” Crosby said. “It becomes even more important come playoff time. We’re definitely confident in that. It’s something that has been a big part of our success.”

Follow the Penguins all season long.