It was a small sample. Just 98 minutes, to be precise.

When Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell were on the ice together last season, however, the Penguins were at their best. During those fleeting moments, the Penguins scored 11 goals. They allowed only one.

Crosby and Rakell enjoyed instant chemistry, and even though Crosby historically (and successfully) skates with Bryan Rust on his right side, it’s possible we’ll see another configuration when the season begins.

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Rust has been skating a great deal with Evgeni Malkin, and those two also enjoy a track record of success. Mike Sullivan loves putting speedsters on Malkin’s wings, and it appears Rust and Jason Zucker — two of the team’s fastest wingers — might start the season flanking Malkin.

All of which brings us back to Crosby and Rakell, who noted that playing with the Penguins’ captain was a particularly enjoyable experience last season.

“I mean, I’m going to be honest with you,” Rakell said. “Playing with him? It was very easy for me to play with him. I really think we hit it off, to be honest. Fast pace. Strong on the puck. Things were just really working for us from the very beginning.”

Since his arrival in Pittsburgh, Rickard Rakell has scored three goals in six games 🤩

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 1, 2022

That Crosby and Jake Guentzel will skate on the top line is a given. They’re Batman and Robin. Rakell, however, could theoretically contribute much to the top line and would hardly represent a third wheel. He’s an accomplished scorer and a perfectly suitable playmaker, and what surprised the Penguins after acquiring him was how eager and willing he was to play in the trenches. This is a player who thrives down low, who wins board battles and is willing to take a beating in front of the net.

In other words, Rakell does what is necessary to play with Crosby and Guentzel, neither of whom will ever be considered a perimeter player. They aren’t big, but they excel in the trenches. They can’t have a linemate who is willing to do anything less, which is one of the reasons Rust is so effective with them.

Rakell, in that regard, makes sense.

“Whether you’re playing with Sid or Geno, you don’t really change how you play your game,” Rakell said. “I learned that. They’re both tremendous, but I don’t think it’s much different with one or the other.”

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That chemistry with Crosby remains in Rakell’s brain, however.

“It was there, for sure, the chemistry,” he said. “You know he’s going to find you if you get yourself open. And the faster of a pace we played, the more it seemed to work.”

Rakell has long been considered a natural left wing, though he’s been successful on either side during his NHL career. The veteran shed some light on what makes him most comfortable.

It’s quite simple.

“Well, it doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “But a lot of it depends on what hand player my center is. In other words, if my center is a righty, I really prefer to play on the left side. But it’s vice versa if my center is a lefty. If that’s the case, I prefer to play on the right side.”

Crosby and Malkin, of course, are both left-handed.

“It doesn’t matter all that much because they’re both so great, and so great on the backhand,” he said. “They’ll find you when you’re open, so your job is to get open.”

Line combinations are fickle, especially this time of year. There’s no question, however, that the Penguins are interested in seeing Rakell and Crosby together.

The little history they have together was impressive in the form of numbers and left an indelible impression on Rakell.

“It felt good,” he said. “You know when things are clicking. And they clicked.”

Ten training camp observations from Day 3

• Jeff Carter left Saturday morning’s scrimmage with an upper-body injury and did not return.

Sullivan said Carter is being evaluated but otherwise didn’t offer any specifics. Carter was skating on a line with Kasperi Kapanen during the first few days of practice.

• Speaking of Kapanen, in what has become a tradition, he was one of the best players on the ice during the scrimmage. I know, I know.

Whatever Kapanen hasn’t figured out at the NHL level certainly isn’t evident in training camp. He looks like a star in every camp. This one is no different.

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• In regard to players who look good in training camp and when the games count, Crosby was in strong form Saturday.

He scored his team’s two goals in a 2-1 scrimmage victory. Crosby and Guentzel were in midseason form, the telepathy we always see from them on display. This won’t qualify as breaking news, but Crosby never seems to age. He is operating with the speed and power we always see from him. He looks like a machine.

• The battle between P-O Joseph and Ty Smith is an interesting one. Joseph’s game has been strong through three days of camp.

Though size is never going to be his strength, he does look a bit bigger this season. He skated beautifully during the scrimmage and is off to a good start.

Smith is an interesting one and, from what I’ve seen, comes as advertised. He’s impressive in the offensive zone. Smith has a good feel for when to shoot, distributes the puck beautifully and can skate.

But there are noticeable flaws when he’s in the defensive zone.

• Sullivan went out of his way to praise Drew O’Connor’s fitness level. In other words, O’Connor is in exceptional condition.

It’s going to be quite a battle for playing time in the bottom six simply because there are so many qualified players. If healthy, we can assume Crosby, Malkin, Guentzel, Rust, Rakell, Zucker, Kapanen, Carter, Danton Heinen, Teddy Blueger and Brock McGinn will be in the lineup. That leaves only one more spot among O’Connor, Josh Archibald, Radim Zohorna, Ryan Poehling, Samuel Poulin, Nathan Legare and others.

This leaves me with two thoughts: The Penguins are deeper than in previous years, which should serve them well. Also, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton should be good this season.

• I’d like to add another name to this list: Drake Caggiula. Keep your eye on this guy.

I’ve been extremely impressed with him during the early stages of camp. He’s not big (5-foot-10, 176 pounds), and he’s not especially young (28). But he has scored 46 goals in 278 NHL games. Caggiula hasn’t been able to stick anywhere but has played for the Oilers, Blackhawks, Coyotes and Sabres since finishing his collegiate career at North Dakota in 2016.

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Of note, Caggiula was recruited by the Penguins after finishing his college career, and he looks back fondly on the conversations he had with Sullivan during that time.

Caggiula underwent neck surgery in November after dealing with numbness in his left arm. He’s 100 percent healthy and has been impactful so far in camp. He’s worth keeping an eye on.

• It’s amazing to me how much the league has changed. There is almost no hitting during training camp or scrimmages.

• It would appear the plan is to play Marcus Pettersson with Jeff Petry. So far, so good. They look fairly comfortable together in the early going.

• Kris Letang is skating circles around players in these scrimmages. Literally. He’s a prideful man and just received a new contract.

He’s not the kind of guy who will sit back and count his money. He looks as motivated as ever to enjoy a big season.

• Sunday will be interesting. The Penguins are having “split squad” preseason games with the Blue Jackets.

The Penguins will host the first game at 1 p.m., and the second game will be played at Nationwide Arena in Columbus at 7. Sullivan is planning on being present at both games. The head coach said he’ll be “jumping in a van” with Ron Hextall and Brian Burke immediately after the first game and will then make the 2 1/2-hour drive on Interstate 70 to Columbus, which should allow him the opportunity to coach both games.

No one in the Penguins organization sounds particularly delighted about the concept of playing two games in one day. Sullivan said he wasn’t aware of whose idea it was to play twice on the same day.

So, if you’re headed to the game in Columbus and see a van driving swiftly, perhaps consider making way for the Penguins’ contingent.

(Photo: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)