Penguins looking for more from line of Patrick Marleau, Jared McCann and Patric Hornqvist - TribLIVE

The Penguins don’t number their lines.

But they have lines that play the most minutes, the second-most, the third-most and the fourth-most.

Right now, the trio of Patrick Marleau, Jared McCann and Patric Hornqvist, colloquially referred to as the third line, is bringing up the rear in terms of ice time.

Through the first two games of the Penguins’ best-of-five qualifying round series with the Montreal Canadiens, the Marleau-McCann-Hornqvist line has logged 16 minutes, 46 seconds of common five-on-five ice time according to Natural Stat Trick.

Games 1 and 2 have featured quite a bit of special teams play thus far and as a result, there have been limited five-on-five sequences for all lines and defensive pairings.

Regardless, the Marleau-McCann-Hornqvist line hasn’t accomplished much with its limited ice time. Arguably, its most notable moment came at 13:03 of the third period in Game 2 when Marleau hit a post with a shot.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan was frank when asked to assess the line Wednesday afternoon via video conference from Toronto.

“We think they’re capable of having more of an impact,” Sullivan said. “That was the discussion that we had with that particular line. We think they have the makings of being an important line for us. Our hope is that we can get that line going in the right direction.”

Hornqvist did get a promotion late in the third period of Game 2, replacing Conor Sheary as a right winger on the top line. That change was made for defensive purposes.

“(Hornqvist), he’s a different player than Conor Sheary is,” Sullivan said. “The shifts (late in the third period), we’re defending a lead. And (Hornqvist) is a heavier body on the wall, he’s a good shot blocker, he brings a defensive dimension as well. They’re just different players, they bring different dimensions. (Hornqvist) is more of a physical presence. He brings a heavier dimension to the line. Conor brings an element of quickness.”

Notes:

• Sullivan was not asked to identify is starting goaltender. It’s safe to assume Matt Murray will be in net for Game 3 after he made 26 of 27 saves in Game 2, a 3-1 win at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.

Through two games of the series, Murray is 1-1 with a 1.79 goals against average and a .935 save percentage.

• The Canadiens are expected to start franchise goaltender Carey Price. Through two games, he has a 1-1 record, a 1.82 goals against average and .949 save percentage.

• Canadiens coach Claude Julien did not announce any line changes but hinted some could be made as a game-time decision.

• After being designated as the home team for Games 1 and 2, the Penguins will serve as the road team for Games 3 and 4. As a result, they will make the first changes before faceoffs.

Follow the Penguins all season long.

Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Penguins/NHL | Sports