When Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford and head coach Mike Johnston creep down the stairs to take a gander under Mario’s big tree this morning, what are they hoping Saint Nick has left them?
Here’s a look at what the Penguins staff hopes they find in their stockings on Christmas morning.
A TOP-SIX WINGER: The Penguins come into the holiday break with 49 points, which puts them atop the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. They lead the second-place New York Islanders by three points, and are ten points up on the Boston Bruins, who are the first team outside of playoff position.
Their winning ways have been even more impressive given the number of players that have been unavailable, but with Pascal Dupuis likely finished for the season, even a healthy Penguins lineup needs more talented wingers to get the most out of top centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
SECONDARY SCORING: The Penguins have scored 106 goals so far this season. Just six players account for 68 of those goals: Crosby, Malkin, Patric Hornqvist, Kris Letang, and Christ Kunitz. For the Penguins to make a deep run in the playoffs, they are going to need a bigger contribution from their role players.
Players such as Marcel Goc (1 goal in 32 games), Craig Adams, (1 goal in 31 games), and Zach Sill (0 goals in 25 games) aren’t primarily considered to be goal scorers, but they need to contribute more than they have.
If they’re unable to, players such as Bryan Rust (1 goal in 6 games) and Rob Klinkhammer (1 goal in 8 games) should get an expanded role in the offense once everyone is healthy.
FLEURY STAYS HOT: In the 18 games he’s played since signing a four-year, $23 million contract extension in early November, Marc-Andre Fleury has a 12-2-3 record, three shutouts, and a .928 save percentage.
He’s currently first in the NHL in shutouts, second in wins, sixth in save percentage, and seventh in goals against average.
If Fleury can maintain his current pace, he would be a prime candidate for a Vezina Trophy and set the Penguins up for a long postseason.
A HAPPY, HEALTHY NEW YEAR: The biggest thing for the Penguins in the first month of 2015 is to get healthy, but it seems as if the light is at the end of the tunnel.
The holiday break should help stop the cycle of infection of the mumps virus throughout the locker room.
The team should know by Friday the results of mumps tests for Brandon Sutter, Steve Downie and Thomas Griess. Defensemen Paul Martin and Christian Ehrhoff are eligible to come off the injured reserve list as soon as Saturday.
Robert Bortuzzo and Beau Bennett have already begun practicing as they recover from the mumps and a pair of lower-body injuries.
The long-terms concerns lie with Olli Maatta, whose shoulder injury may require surgery, and Blake Comeau, who injured his wrist Saturday in Florida and may be out for some time.
GOOD FORTUNE: The Penguins face a very difficult schedule in the month of January. Their next 11 games all come against teams with winning records, and they’ll play five games against teams that are in first or second place in their division.
The team has built a nice cushion in the standings, but this will be the toughest stretch that Mike Johnston’s squad has faced. Particularly challenging will be a three games in four nights stretch from the 18th to the 21st, when the Penguins will host the New York Rangers, travel to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers, and then come home next day where the Chicago Blackhawks will be waiting.
It may take a little luck, but if they can emerge from January unscathed, the schedule lightens up the rest of the way.
For Penguins fans, hopefully the man in red will be good to the black and gold this holiday season.
Photo credit: Pittsburgh Penguins
