The Pittsburgh Penguins got off to an 8-2-2 start to the 2025-26 season and were the best team in the NHL after October.
They were getting contributions throughout the lineup at both 5v5 and on the man-advantage, plus getting elite goaltending from Arturs Silovs and Tristan Jarry. The goaltending has remained good in November, even without Tristan Jarry for a bit, but the offense has really dried up, leading to them losing seven of nine games this month. Part of it is due to numerous forwards being out of the lineup, but another part of it is due to some players not being up to par.
With that in mind, here's a look at a few forwards that need to be better for the Penguins.
Tommy Novak
I was really high on Novak heading into the year and liked the move to get him from the Nashville Predators during last season's trade deadline. He has a history of being a productive playmaker and has an underrated release, but has been really underwhelming to start the year, compiling only two goals and seven points in 21 games. He also doesn't have a point in the last four Penguins' games.
We saw a glimpse of some early chemistry between him and Evgeni Malkin during the second game against the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 9, but since then, it's been a lot of nothing. Heck, even when he has gone back down to the third line with first-round pick Benjamin Kindel, the chemistry between the two hasn't been the same as it was earlier in the season.
It feels like Novak is second-guessing everything he does when he's on the ice. If he can find his game, it would give the Penguins another good option for their middle six, especially due to how versatile he is.
Bryan Rust
It may seem odd that someone with 15 points in 19 games needs to be better, but only five of those points are goals. Rust hasn't scored a goal in his last six games and only has one point during that time, too.
He hasn't been forechecking as well as he normally does, and the puck is also being dislodged from his stick quite a bit. He's also not playing well in his own zone when his line is hemmed in. Per MoneyPuck, out of 17 forwards who have played at least 50 minutes at 5v5 for the Penguins, Rust ranks 16th in on-ice expected goals with 43.9%. The process simply hasn't been there.
Rust has been a core leader on this team for the last several years and is coming off a career season, finishing with 31 goals and 65 points in 71 games. However, his game hasn't been up to par, and it needs to change.
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Kevin Hayes
Hayes has only played in six games since he missed the start of the season due to an injury he suffered during training camp, but has looked a couple of steps slow in the top six.
He's a short-term replacement for Justin Brazeau on the second line, who was lighting it up for the Penguins before getting hurt at the end of October. Brazeau, Evgeni Malkin, and Anthony Mantha couldn't be stopped by teams when they were in the offensive zone.
Hayes was fine in a depth role last year despite his lack of footspeed, racking up 13 goals and 23 points in 64 games, but has yet to produce a lot of offense this year, compiling only one assist.
I don't expect him to light the league on fire, but he needs to be a lot more noticeable.
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