Icing a third line staffed by rookies comes with growing pains.
The Penguins’ “kid line” of Rutger McGroarty, Ben Kindel and Ville Koivunen got pinned in their own zone Thursday on the Brandon Hagel goal that tied the game late for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The rookies were on the ice together at even strength for a total of six minutes and 43 seconds on Thursday, during which MoneyPuck says the Penguins led in shot attempts (7-4) and had a positive Corsi percentage
(63.6 percent).
They also helped boost the power play, on which Koivunen and Kindel both scored to help the Pens climb out to an early three-goal lead.
That second-period power play strike marked the seventh goal of the season for Kindel, who turns 19 in April.
Per NHL Stats, that ties Craig Simpson’s 1985 mark for the fourth-most goals by an 18-year-old in Penguins history. It’s a steep climb to join the rest of the list, where Jaromir Jagr (18) and Jordan Staal (29) rank behind Sidney Crosby (39).
Kindel is also currently tied for second in the NHL’s rookie goalscoring race, and he’s tied for first with 2025 top pick Matthew Schaefer for the rookie power-play scoring lead.
Dane Muse also used Kindel on the penalty kill for a second straight game on Thursday. He recorded more than four minutes on the man disadvantage and helped Bryan Rust set up a shorthanded rush.
Koivunen meanwhile joined Kindel, Filip Hallander and Harrison Brunicke as the fourth rookie to score for the Penguins this season.
Only two teams in the NHL have gotten goals from that many rookies so far this season: the San Jose Sharks, who have seen four rookies score, and the Chicago Blackhawks with an NHL-high.
Both of those teams have, very recently, fully tanked. Both are getting production from recent top-two picks, with 2024 No. 2 pick Artyom Levshunov scoring in Chicago and 2025 No. 2 pick Michael Misa getting on the scoreboard in San Jose.
Ranking among those teams, despite continually finishing middle of the pack in recent years and not having gotten a top-10 draft pick since 2012, is a mark of both Kyle Dubas’ success in the last two drafts as well as Muse’s willingness to give his younger players a chance to play.
We’ll see if the kid line returns to the ice Sunday when the Penguins take on the Dallas Stars on the road.
