Until recently, the blue line of the Pittsburgh Penguins had been devastated by injuries. There was a highly publicized point in the season when the team was missing four of their top six defensemen, yet the slashes were still coming in the win column.
The Penguins managed to remain one of the top teams in the NHL despite missing key defensive contributors like Paul Martin, Kris Letang and Rob Scuderi for extended periods of time. Logic would dictate that Pittsburgh would improve as these quality players returned but so far that just hasn't been the case.
Pittsburgh's defensive core has been mostly healthy since the end of December. Scuderi returned to the lineup on Dec. 29 and Letang rejoined the team on Jan. 5. Martin returned more recently—on Jan. 20—but compared to the AHL-esque top six that the Penguins had been icing, the group seemed much improved on paper.
In practice, the Penguins have struggled in their own zone over the last 15 games. The wheels haven't fallen off and Pittsburgh's massive lead in the Metropolitan Division isn't going to be in danger any time soon, but the team simply has ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Franklin Steele
Breaking Down Pittsburgh Penguins’ Recent Defensive Struggles
January 28th, 2014 by Franklin Steele Leave a reply »
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