Top 5 Second-Half Storylines for the Pittsburgh Penguins

For the first time in a long time, the Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves looking up at a rival in the standings instead of looking down on the rest of their division.

Having tallied their lowest point total in any season since their Stanley Cup-winning 2008-09 campaign, the Pens have some work to do to get to where they need to be before the postseason.

With the schedule's midway point in the rear-view mirror and the trade deadline looming, let's take a look at stories for the Penguins that will be worth watching during the second half of the season.

Shuffling Lines

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

With the acquisitions of Patric Hornqvist, Nick Spaling, Blake Comeau and Steve Downie last summer, plus the recent additions of David Perron and Maxim Lapierre, the Penguins have added a lot of pieces, but thanks to injuries, they haven't had a chance to see how those pieces best fit.

Forced to deal with 149 man games lost among his group of forwards, head coach Mike Johnston has been forced to mix and match lines from one game to the next.

While the Pens are much deeper and more versatile up front than they were last year, the lack of consistency has resulted in a lack of chemistry recently, as they've lost five of six games while scoring just 14 goals.

With both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on pace for career lows in goals during a full season and players finally returning from injury, it will be interesting to see how the Pens' forward lines shake out as the postseason approaches.

Marc-Andre Fleury's Workload

USA TODAY Sports

Although he is still on pace for a career year, Marc-Andre Fleury has lost four of his last six starts, and his excessive workload may be catching up to him.

Through 48 regular-season games, Fleury is on pace to play in 65 regular-season games, which seems to be his maximum given his performance in previous seasons.

Although he played in 64 games last season and followed that with a strong postseason, he won't have the advantage of a two-week Olympic break to recharge and refocus this season.

With the Pens in the thick of a playoff race instead of being comfortably atop the division as they usually are, the coaching staff might be tempted to lean on him even more and run the risk of burning him out for the postseason.

Less Glitz, More Grit

Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

Having already added grit to their lineup in Steve Downie, Blake Comeau, Nick Spaling and Patric Hornqvist during the offseason, the Penguins added even more in Maxim Lapierre via trade for the talented but underutilized Marcel Goc.

Lapierre has a well-earned reputation for playing on the edge and actually was involved in the first ever fight at the Consol Energy Center when he, as member of the Montreal Canadians, took a run at Kris Letang during the 2010-11 season. 

Known as one of the biggest antagonizers in the league, Lapierre fills a need on the Pens and, although he is the lesser player in the deal, will definitely have opponents looking over their shoulder.

However, Lapierre is a minus-36 for his career and has been a plus player in just two of his 10 seasons, so it remains to be seen whether the exchange of skill and savvy in Goc for his grit and grind will translate into better production from the Pens' fourth line.

Does Bigger Equal Better?

USA TODAY Sports

During last year playoff run, the Penguins' forwards averaged 5'11" and barely 200 pounds and struggled to generate pressure against the bigger and stronger Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers.

While this year's team is bigger and more physical, when compared with last year's team, it hasn't been as successful.

Through the first 48 games last season, the Pens were 34-12-2 (70 points) and were comfortably in first place in the division, while through the same number of games, they are just 27-13-8 (62 points) and clinging to second place.

Having gone from 21st to first in team penalty minutes, the Pens are definitely a more rugged team and have proven willing and able to fight back when bullied, but the question remains as to whether that size and toughness will translate into wins on the ice.

Is Trade Deadline Mania Dead in Pittsburgh?

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Although the Penguins were always among the most active teams at the NHL trade deadline when Ray Shero was at the helm, that may not be the case this season under Jim Rutherford's watch.

While with the Carolina Hurricanes, Rutherford had a tendency to act earlier in the season as he did during their Stanley Cup-winning 2005-06 campaign during which he make seven trades with only one coming at the deadline.

Having already acquired David Perron from the Edmonton Oilers and Maxim Lapierre from the St. Louis Blues, Rutherford has shored up a lot of the holes in the Pens roster before the prices inevitably go up as the March 2 deadline approaches.

However, with key players still sidelined or hampered by injuries, it's difficult to assess if more needs to be done, so it will be interesting to see if Rutherford makes any more moves or stands pat—something to which Pens fans are not accustomed their general manager do.