Agreed. Even when Rust and Rakell come back and we wanna keep those guys in the top 6, Puustinen should at least be on the 3rd line. Offensively, he definitely brings more than any of DOC, Zohorna, Harkins, etc.

I’m so glad that we finally gave him a shot. I’ve been following him since he played in SM-liiga and have been calling for him to get his chance for a while now. He sees the game very well, is not phased by the NHL pace, and, importantly for a smaller player, he is positionally sound. Watching him move into the right spots in both the offensive and defensive zone has been awesome to see.

I firmly believe that Puustinen needs to stay in the top 6 to be most successful. He moves the puck too well at the NHL pace to not be facilitating Malkin. Putting him with Eller and the forechecking DOC would be a disservice to the smaller Puustinen’s play style. When everyone’s healthy, I say move Rakell to the third line and run three very solid lines.

The funny thing is whenever I watched games when Nylander was up I actually liked his game. I don’t think he ever did anything wrong. He was always creating plays and those plays were just never being finished. Not to mention he was playing on a heavily struggling line with Smith and Geno. Now team is playing decent again and whatever plays Puustinen creates are being capitalized. It’s good to see. I’m glad after all this time Puusty is getting a shot.