You'll be hard pressed to find a line that's been rolled out more consistently than Sidney Crosby between Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis over the last few years.
Kunitz has been a top-six fixture since the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired him in 2009, while Dupuis played his way onto the top line after being considered a throw-in in the Marian Hossa deal in 2008.
When the Penguins made a splash and acquired Jarome Iginla at the trade deadline in 2013, it was Dupuis' speed and two-way acumen that forced the 12-time 30-goal scorer onto the second line to play with Evgeni Malkin. This particular combination has been about as steady as one can be in the NHL.
A lot of things have changed in Pittsburgh since the 2008-09 campaign; the top line isn't one of them. It's been Dupuis-Crosby-Kunitz as the No. 1 unit with everyone else competing to play alongside Malkin (not a bad gig in and of itself) for awhile now.
That could finally change in 2014-15.
Pittsburgh's newfound forward depth and pressure from younger players could finally break up this familiar trio once and for al ...
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Article written by Franklin Steele