Penguins forward Evan Rodrigues promoted (again) in Sidney Crosby's absence

Evan Rodrigues has been in this position before.

And that’s because he can play a whole bunch of positions.

Once again, the versatile Penguins forward is likely to be pressed into an elevated role for Friday’s home contest against the New York Rangers in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series at PPG Paints Arena.

With franchise pillar Sidney Crosby sidelined due to a suspected head injury he suffered in Game 5 on Wednesday, Rodrigues is expected to be promoted to the team’s second-line center position with Danton Heinen at left wing and Kasperi Kapanen on the right wing.

Through the first five games of the series, Rodrigues had predominantly been deployed on the right wing of the fourth line.

As for the 82 regular season games Rodrigues participated in, he was deployed … well … everywhere. From the season opener when he centered the second line to the regular season finale that saw him man left wing of the fourth line, Rodrigues never got too comfortable in any one spot.

As for his current assignment, Penguins coaches appear more than comfortable using him as a top-six center.

“He’s just a good player,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He has real good offensive instincts. He can play the center position. He can play the wing. He’s played some of his best hockey this year at the center position. We’ve utilized him on the power plays. We’ve utilized him on the penalty kill. One of the reasons why we signed (Rodrigues) was just because of his versatility and our ability to move him up and down the lineup depending on what the needs of the team are. And he’s certainly fulfilled that for us this year and then some.

“He’s had a real solid year for us. He’s played some of his best hockey at the center ice position.”

Rodrigues shattered his previous career highs this season with 19 goals and 43 assists. And so far this postseason, he has a solid three points (two goals, one assist) in five games (all of which came in a 7-4 home win in Game 3).

Even with a promotion, Rodrigues professes no need to alter his game.

“When you try to change the way you play and try to change your game when you get bumped up the lineup, I think that’s when you get in trouble, when you try to be too cute and stuff like that,” Rodrigues said. “For me, it’s just making hard plays, being simple early, not kind of chasing it, letting the game come to me and continuing to play the way I’ve been playing the first five games.”

Rodrigues is also likely to get some time with the top power-play unit in Crosby’s absence. During Friday’s morning skate, Rodrigues skated with forwards Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust and defenseman Kris Letang.

“Those four guys are all extremely skilled with the puck and find open guys,” Rodrigues said. “The key to success on that power-play (unit) is having that five-on-five mentality and winning puck battles. Once you get possession, that’s when you just kind of let your natural ability take over. Just try not to be too cute with it, try and shoot the puck too early and let things come to me after that.”

The Penguins are clearly a lesser team without the talents of Crosby. They don’t dispute that notion.

At the same time, they’ve gained plenty of experience of playing — and succeeding — with a pockmarked lineup, particularly after this past season.

“This isn’t anything that our team isn’t accustomed to,” Sullivan said. “We’ve played a fair amount of this season in these circumstances and in these situations. It’s a great opportunity for guys to step up and play more significant roles and contribute in other ways to help the team win. Our players are excited about it. And they’ve shown an ability to rise to the occasion. We’ve done it for a lot of this year. It isn’t anything that our team isn’t accustomed to. We believe that we have what it takes. We have enough … We’re a deep team, we’re a good hockey team. When we play the game with a collective effort and a team mindset, we believe we have what it takes to win.”

Rodrigues certainly appears to have that faith in himself.

“Especially in the playoffs, it kind of brings that extra juice out of you,” Rodrigues said. “It gets you fired up a little bit more. I’m going to try to make my mark on this game. But at the same time … just kind of do what I’ve been doing the first five games and playing the way I know I can play.”

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