Cullen is 40 on November the 2nd and is currently leading the Penguins on scoring with 5 points in 6 games. Obviously, this is very early in the season with only 7% of games completed so far for the Penguins. But, the signs are encouraging and he may well taper off as the season grows due to the physicality, but he didn't last year. Last year 22 of his 32 points came from January onwards.
It is an interesting case as to why Matt Cullen is doing so well for the Penguins. I think if the Penguins were so deep at center, he could play on the third line. Speed isn't an issue for Cullen, shown best in the Penguins 3-1 win in Game 3 of the playoffs. Cullen stripped the defender of the puck and raced past to bury a shot through Lundqvist's 5 hole.
Cullen has been a superb possession driven player this season and through 6 games he has a CF% above 50% in five of them, three are at 70% and above. That includes the 5-1 humiliation against Nashville previously. The only game were Cullen struggled was the season opener. Outside of that, he has helped create a number of chances and part of this is down to his 59.6 FO%. He currently leads the Penguins in this regards, ahead of even Malkin who is fourth on 49.1%.
Hopefully Cullen continues his good play and whilst he will almost certainly see a drop in production if he can keep his off the puck play at the same level, he will be a real asset again. Cullen only need to score more than 22 points to have the most as a 40+ player for the Penguins, beating even what Lemieux set. Although, to be fair, that was only through 26 games. But with the way he is going Cullen could beat that. Who knows, maybe he returns next year?
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