Last season, few people saw John Marino coming beyond his tight-knit family back in Boston and a trio of Penguins scouts, most notably Kevin Stevens.
The rookie defenseman made a name for himself right away and finished 2019-20 on the second defensive pair and third on a few Calder Trophy ballots.
The talk in Pittsburgh entering 2021 was about whether Marino might leap-frog Kris Letang on the depth chart. Ex-general manager Jim Rutherford suggested he could prior to signing Marino to his six-year, $26.4 million contract.
Instead, Marino, who turns 24 in May, fell behind Cody Ceci, though Ceci arguably playing the best hockey of his career has something to do with that.
Marino and partner Marcus Pettersson have been solid on the third pair. Marino has 10 points and a plus-6 rating and has seen an uptick in power-play time. But his expected goals percentage at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick, has significantly dipped from 55.5 to 47.4. That’s last among their top six blue-liners.
So what are we to make of Marino’s second year? We asked that Letang fella.
“Johnny came in as a young guy that nobody even expected to make our lineup or play that much hockey for us,” the six-time All-Star said. “But also, at one point with injuries, he got the top minutes, was used on the power play and the PK. He showed a lot of great things and had an unbelievable season for a rookie.
“I think this year now he’s facing even more of a bigger challenge because players know him and how good he is. He’s playing against better players. He’s getting put in tougher situations. And I think Johnny’s been answering the bell.”
It’s been a while. But Letang can relate to what Marino, who has six points and a plus-4 rating in 18 games since his minor injury in March, is going through.
Letang didn’t exactly set the NHL on fire in his second season, in 2008-09. He had 33 points but a minus-7 rating in the regular season. In the playoffs, though, he was excellent as the Penguins won the Stanley Cup soon after he turned 22.
So, no, he doesn’t believe Marino’s development has already plateaued prior to him playing his 100th career game Saturday against the New Jersey Devils.
“He’s just going to keep getting better and he’s going to keep working on his game,” he said. “We’re fortunate to have [assistant Todd Reirden]. He’s a great coach to sit down with players and take the time to talk about the games.”
Gaudreau joins the group
Evgeni Malkin wasn’t the only player skating around in a white non-contact jersey Friday. Freddy Gaudreau returned to practice in a non-contact capacity.
Gaudreau, a right-shot forward who has been out since suffering a lower-body injury April 11, made his Penguins debut on March 18. In 13 games, he had one goal, four points and a plus-2 rating. He also won 53.6% of his faceoffs and helped the penalty kill thrive despite losing Brandon Tanev and Teddy Blueger.
Speaking of Tanev, who first got back on the ice Wednesday, he skated with the taxi squad but not the main group Friday. He’s been sidelined since April 3.
“To this point, the status hasn’t changed with anybody,” coach Mike Sullivan said after the afternoon practice. “It’s just continuing to go through the process.”
Not searching for shorties
Blueger buried a short-handed goal in Thursday’s 5-1 win over the Devils. It was his third of the season, tying him for second among NHLers. And it was the fifth in 2021 for the Penguins, who rank in the league’s top five in that category.
The Penguins wanted to be more aggressive on their penalty kill this season. But Sullivan said that does not mean they prioritized short-handed scoring. Those goals are simply a reward when players defend hard and work together.
“Obviously, when opportunities present themselves offensively, we encourage the guys to trust their instincts and try to score goals. … Just like 5-on-5, when you defend hard sometimes you can create opportunities,” the coach said.
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Friday was team photo day at PPG Paints Arena. Players, coaches and support staffers lined up four rows deep at center ice. Afterward, Marino was asked which teammate was the most concerned with looking good for the camera.
“Brandon Tanev,” he said, chuckling at the question. “He has one of the longest [hairstyles] on the team, for sure, and he’s pretty self-conscious, I would say.”
Matt Vensel: mvensel@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mattvensel.
First Published: April 23, 2021, 10:12 p.m.
