Blindsided might be the best word to describe not only the hit that Marcus Pettersson absorbed in the neutral zone on Jan. 19, but also the ripple effect it had on the Penguins’ defense.
T.J. Oshie’s high, hard collision did more than knock the Penguins' 24-year-old defenseman out of the game. It began a month-long stretch during which the Penguins struggled to find enough healthy bodies to fill the left side of their blue line.
That same game, Juuso Riikola didn’t return for the third period. Mike Matheson was already injured. Soon, Brian Dumoulin would be, too, leaving the Penguins without all four of their lefties from the Game 1 roster.
Injuries in hockey are common. But few teams have been forced to weather so many injuries to one very specific position group.
“I think the guys on the blue line have done a really good job,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We put guys in circumstances where they’re not most comfortable playing the off side. Those guys just embrace it.”
As the Penguins prepare to host the Capitals on Tuesday night, it appears that injury-stricken stretch might finally be nearing its end. Pettersson was activated off injured reserve just prior to the game. He skated on the third pair alongside Cody Ceci and also contributed on the penalty kill.
Over the last month, the Penguins had to get creative to fill their numerous holes on the left side. Second-year righty John Marino got comfortable playing his off side for several games. Chad Ruhwedel, the seventh defenseman on the depth chart, also flipped over to play his off hand. Kevin Czuczman suited up for his first NHL game in seven years. Pierre-Olivier Joseph, a 21-year-old rookie, was promoted all the way to the top pair.
In what is perhaps the best visual to illustrate what the Penguins went through, 32-year-old Yannick Weber was signed off the street and drove 16 hours through a snowstorm to meet the team.
Yet, despite all those injuries and some inconsistent goaltending that put more stress on the defense, the Penguins managed to muster a 6-3-1 record during that stretch.
“It’s not perfect back there,” Sullivan said, “but I love our compete level. I love our willingness to embrace the challenge each and every night.”
If there’s a silver lining in it all, the injury-marred stretch also forced the Penguins to throw Joseph into a leading role. The Penguins knew coming into this season that the lanky rookie was knocking on the door at the NHL level. They probably didn’t expect him to look this comfortable, this fast.
Ultimately, Joseph’s emergence should create some position battles on the left side, as the club’s most injury-ravage position group is arguably its deepest when healthy.
Riikola and Dumoulin remain on long-term injured reserve, which requires players to miss at least 24 days and 10 games. Even once he’s healthy, Riikola may have lost his shot at a jersey on game night.
Dumoulin, meanwhile, should jump back into the top four when he’s healthy, likely in the top pair alongside Kris Letang. He went on long-term injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 26, which will make him eligible to return as soon as the Feb. 25 game in Washington. However, he still has not skated in a team setting.
Jarry in net, DeSmith back from illness
Tristan Jarry will get the nod in net for the second consecutive game Tuesday. He’s coming off a 28-save performance on Sunday during the Penguins’ 6-3 win over the Capitals. It was just the fourth time this year his save percentage was 90% or higher in a game. Through his first eight games, Jarry has posted a .864 save percentage and 3.82 goals-against average.
Casey DeSmith, who was sick on Sunday, skated with teammates on Tuesday morning. He’s scheduled to serve as the backup to Jarry. With DeSmith back to full strength, the Penguins sent their third goalie, Maxime Lagace, back to the taxi squad.
Discipline key vs. Caps
The NHL’s new-look East Division features several intriguing special teams matchups, with some of the league’s best and worst units competing nightly. The Penguins will see one of them on Tuesday night when they host the Capitals and their NHL-best power play.
“They’ve got a lot of weapons,” Sullivan said. “They’re an evolved power play. That group has been together for a long time, for the most part. They can beat you many different ways. It’s hard to key on any one particular aspect of their power play and try to take it away because they can beat you other ways”
The Penguins’ penalty kill, which ranks fourth-worst in the league, held the Capitals to a 1-for-4 night on Sunday. That’s below Washington’s season average of 35.5%. However, Sullivan said the first step to keeping the Capitals elite power play off the ice.
“I think the biggest part of it is we have to do a better job staying out of the penalty box,” Sullivan said. “I think our team discipline has to be better than it was in the previous game so we don’t give that power play too many opportunities to be the difference.”
The Penguins’ discipline has, generally, improved as the season has gone on. Through the first nine games, the Penguins put their opponent’s power play on the ice 30 times, an average of 3.3 times per game. The last four games, they’ve been better, with just 2.25 times short-handed per game.
The East Division features some of the NHL’s most-disciplined teams. The Buffalo Sabres (25 times shor-thanded), New Jersey Devils (34 times short-handed) and New York Islanders (35 times short-handed) are the league’s three least-penalized teams.
Mike DeFabo: mdefabo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MikeDeFabo.
First Published: February 16, 2021, 5:26 p.m.
