Mike Sullivan likes to say that his team plays best with a "defensive conscience". A quick glance at the numbers seems to indicate that during the entire 2017-18 season, penguins did not do as much as in the past.
They gave up 3.02 goals per game, their average season in the average for Sullivan. In October and November, the problem of dropping too many strange aspirations was a problem, and he returned to bite them again in the postseason, which ultimately led to their elimination of the playoffs.
When looking at the defenders and goalkeepers, the results were a bit mixed bag. There were many positive moments to take away, but, ultimately, the inability of penguins to keep the puck out of their own network is the main reason they no longer compete for the third consecutive Stanley Cup.
For example, this year the defenders remained remarkably healthy. Justin Schultz sat from 19 games due to injury, but Chris Lathang, Brian Dumulin and Olli Maatt missed five combinations between them.
Matt Murray also grew a bit drunk, collecting a really serious sequel in February, but a little shaken in the playoffs.
This era of penguins will always be focused mainly on the guys in front, but here's a look at how this season ended:
Brian Dumulin, Olli Maatt and Justin Schultz did not necessarily have to be screaming, but all three did provide some wonderful years.
Perhaps Dumoulin showed the greatest growth of any penguin. He was excellent in the regular season and outstanding in the playoffs, becoming a bona fide defender of the top pair. He was almost unquestionably the best defensive player of the team, and even showed some outbursts of offensive development, five goals this season - three more than his regular season career in the coming year. Dumoulin regrets the missing chance that he had on Braden Holtby late in Game 5, which eventually led to the winner of Vran on the other end, but 2017-18 was undoubtedly great for him.
Meanwhile, Schulz supported the long-term deal he had signed in the past offseason with another hard year. His final sum was almost halved - what he acknowledged he should improve next year - but he provided a consistent consistent game and was reliable, if not spectacular, defensive for most of the season. Some of this fall in production came from the splitting of time with Letang as a protector for the top of the power game, a role that Schultz seemed to have clearly captured by the end of the playoffs.
This year, Jim Rutherford effectively beat .500 when he came to adding defenders. Matt Hunwick was bombarded as a free agent, but the acquisition of Jamie Oleksiac from Dallas in December's trade was a bit of a turnaround.
Hunvik was injured at the beginning of the season and never got to his feet after that. He played a bunch of games in the middle of the year, but the playoffs were replaced by Chad Ruhevedel as the sixth defender of the Penguins. Hunwick was a capable NHL player, earlier in his career, but having crossed the Penguins system from Toronto, and also turning back and forth between the left and right sides, this year made a difficult battle.
This was not the case when Oleksiak, who immediately fit into the situation. He secured a good physical presence after the departure of Jan Cole, forcing the Penguin defenders with 2.9 hits per game. Oleksiak, a former first-round choice that fell out of Dallas, seems a good candidate to follow in the footsteps of Schulz and Trevor Daley as the next successful Rutherford reclamation project on the blue line.
This brings us to Latan. His performance in the postseason left a sour taste in the mouth of the fans and led to some assumptions that he could be allowed this offseason. Sullivan, however, was rather passionate about his value for the team last week.
All that is considered, Letang can not be the main part of this team, as it once was, but the penguins seem to be inclined to give it an advantage this year. Rutherford can listen to some of the trade offers, but expect Latang to still be dressed in black and gold next fall.
DeSmith is a small favorite that will start next year as a reserve, and penguins probably consider it to be the best long-term option than Jarry for this role. He does not have an elite Jarry pedigree, but DeSmith works great as a solid NHL career.
No comments:
Post a Comment