The Pittsburgh Penguins currently hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference right now. However, this team will only earn back their reputation it desires in the playoffs. The regular season will hopefully at worst give this team a number two seed in the conference come playoff time.
The Penguins have had only six players manage to play the entire season to this point. Furthermore, they lead the NHL with 243 games lost to injury, a staggering number when you consider the team in second is trailing by 37 games. Tomas Vokoun went down in the preseason with a blood clot in his groin. An unfortunate situation that will likely cost him the season, if not his career.
Rob Scuderi was the first defenseman to go down just eight games into the season with a broken ankle from blocking a shot. Scuderi has made a living out of blocking shots. Paul Martin followed with a broken bone in his leg. Brooks Orpik was assaulted by Shawn Thornton of the Boston Bruins and Kris Letang just returned from a 10 game absence. Up front, James Neal missed time due to an undisclosed injury and suspension. Evgeni Malkin just returned from missing nine games, and veteran leader, Pascal Dupuis may have been lost for the season with a knee injury.
If someone were to tell any coach in the league that he would lose the goalie that he rode on the playoffs last year, his top four defensemen, a locker room leader, and 243 games to injury. And that he would still have a 17 point lead in the division? One would think laughter or a slap to the face would ensue.
Here now are the grades at the midway point of the season for: Offense, Defense, Goaltending, Special Teams, and Coaching.
Offense – A
Sidney Crosby is without question a full second ahead of competition on an average night. Crosby is the best player in the NHL and second isn’t even close. He is having one of the best seasons of his career so far as he leads the league in scoring. Chris Kunitz is also having a career year and is on pace for his first 80 point season of his career. James Neal is vastly becoming the real deal in Pittsburgh who continues to become the sniper Ray Shero has been looking for. Even though Malkin isn’t racking up the goals thus far in the season, he is third in the NHL in assists.
The unassuming Jussi Jokinen who has the tendency of disappearing at times ranks 4th on the team in goals, while Brandon Sutter, the defensive minded center has 8 goals on the year. Letang leads all defenseman on the Penguins in scoring and Matt Niskanen, a player who one thought would have been traded by now, ranks second among defenseman in scoring.
Defense – A
This is where the entire Penguins organization should be applauded. The baby Pens run the exact game-plan that is executed by Dan Bylsma’s staff. For a team that has watched one defenseman after another go down with an injury and yet continue to build a lead in the Metropolitan division speaks volumes of the system, not the players. However, that being said, Olli Maatta has been incredible in his debut for the Penguins and is here to stay.
Goaltending – A-
As we know, The conundrum with Marc-Andre Fleury has never been the regular season. The Pens’ franchise goalie is seeking his 5th 30 win season and his stats this year are the best of his career. It’s been his past two blundering performances in the postseason that has Penguins’ fans most on the edge of their seats. In all of sports, players are very superstitious. So when Fleury decided to change his hockey mask he has worn the past two seasons, one would think the change was made due to his past failures in the postseason.
After getting throttled in his first career game against an inexperienced Florida Panthers team allowing five goals, Jeff Zatkoff has really stepped up when needed. I his first year of NHL action, Zatkoff has won his last seven starts as his record now stands at 7-2 with a 2.52 GAA and a very respectable .910 save percentage. With the emergence of Zatkoff, Shero may now look into other areas to make a trade for this team moving forward.
Special Teams – A
The Pittsburgh Penguins are as potent as they are disciplined. The Pens currently hold the league’s best power play with a success rate of 25.9% and the second best penalty killing unit at 88.4%.
Coaching – A+
Earlier in the season, Byslma was sitting on a warm seat as people felt this team was underperforming. With the recent history of failures in the postseason, fans were becoming restless and thought maybe a change was needed at the helm. Unfortunately for head coach Dan Byslma, he will not be judged by this teams accomplishments until the postseason. However, the job that he and the rest of this coaching staff has done amid the injuries, has been nothing short of amazing.
Overall – A
The Pittsburgh penguins are one of the best teams in the National Hockey League and with players returning from injury, Shero looking poised to pull the trigger on a deal, will only continue to get better. A scary thought for the resort of the NHL moving forward.
