With the Pittsburgh Penguins currently ranked third in the league in average goals against per game, falling two spots after allowing five against the Calgary Flames on Saturday night, knocking the defense seems farfetched. Maybe unfair.
However, consider the two players with the worst plus/minus ranking on the team in Kris Letang and Ian Cole at -10 and -9, respectively. Now, consider Olli Maatta and Rob Scuderi lead the team with +9 and +8 ratings, while Ben Lovejoy checks in at +3.
Letang and Cole play big minutes at 26:11 and 21:28 time on ice per game average, and often against the top players on the opposing team, but seem to be regressing instead of progressing in terms of chemistry. The pair finished with a -4 rating against the Flames and boasts only one game with a positive plus/minus rating, a +1 finish against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 15.
As expected, Letang leads Penguins blueliners with six points, but four came on the powerplay. Traditionally, Letang fares okay in the plus/minus category, finishing with a minus rating only three times in eight full seasons and only once since 2008–09.
Cole showed some offensive upside after joining the Penguins at the trade deadline last season, finishing with eight points in 20 games and started the season with a +38 career plus/minus rating. However, Cole went the first 13 games of the season without recording a point and leads the team in penalty minutes, possibly indicating a shortcoming in the pairing as opposed the individual players.
Given the recent success of the team, especially on the defensive side, breaking up the Scuderi/Maatta and Brian Dumoulin/Lovejoy pairings looks unattractive at present, but perhaps Adam Clendening, a smooth skater with the ability to create some offense and with some, albeit limited, NHL experience, deserves a game or two over the severely struggling Cole. Keep in mind, when Mike Johnston scratched a healthy Scuderi early in the season, Scuderi responded with assists in two consecutive games and strong defensive play since.
The Penguins signed Cole in the offseason for three years at $2.1 million per year and not only expect, but need a better effort from the former first rounder. At only 26 years old, the hoi polloi need not panic with Cole quite yet, but the slow start after such a strong finish last season raises a few warranted concerns.
