Penguins: Marcus Pettersson and John Marino have provided great value

The Pittsburgh Penguins defense has been terrific this season thanks to surprising contributions from John Marino and Marcus Pettersson.

On occasion, you will hear Jim Rutherford and Mike Sullivan state that all of the injuries this season will make the Pittsburgh Penguins a better team in the long run. That has been the case on the blueline.

With Brian Dumoulin and Justin Schultz both sidelined due to lower-body injuries, the Penguins have been able to experiment with uncommon defense pairs. Some of them have not worked (Jack Johnson is sinking Kris Letang) while others such as the pairing of Marcus Pettersson and John Marino have thrived.

I suspect the Penguins’ long-term plan since the beginning of the season was to have Pettersson and Marino as their second defense pair for the 2020-21 campaign. In all likelihood, that would be the correct decision. We have gotten a preview of how they look together over the last month or so.

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While the sample size of 181 minutes together is small, this pairing is controlling territory quite well. All data is courtesy of Natural Stat Trick. Pittsburgh generates 52% of the shot attempts, 54% of the scoring chances and 55% of the shot share with Pettersson and Marino on the ice during even-strength play. These numbers were higher across the board prior to the Penguins 4-3 victory in Vegas on Monday night.

This pairing has an expected goals for percentage of 55%. With Pettersson and Marino on the backend, the Penguins have outscored opponents 9-7 (good for 56% of the goals for). The process and results have been aligning. Per Cap Friendly, these two defenders have a combined salary-cap hit of $1,799,125. Pettersson is 23 and Marino is 22. That is remarkable value and it is the kind you need to compete for the Stanley Cup.

As a rookie, Marino ranks 18th in Evolving Hockey’s goals above replacement (GAR) model. He has been tremendous. As you will see below, Marino provides the most value in the even-strength defense department than any of the 20 names on this list.

I reckon that the Pettersson and Marino pairing has been slightly better than the Pettersson and Justin Schultz pairing that the Penguins have used when healthy. Both pairs are above average.

Due to the fact that Jack Johnson and Schultz are a trainwreck together, and Marino has propped Johnson up (as a rookie!) Pittsburgh can not afford to go with their best possible defense pairings right now. I suspect that when Dumoulin and Schultz return the pairings will go back to normal:

• Brian Dumoulin – Kris Letang
• Marcus Pettersson – Justin Schultz
• Jack Johnson – John Marino

Schultz is at his best when he is deployed in a sheltered role. The Penguins were a dominant team in the spring of 2016 with Schultz on the third pair. He has had just an average 2019-20 season. Undoubtedly, Marino is having a better season than Schultz. While Johnson is having a better season, his presence is preventing the Penguins from maximizing their defense core.

I would be interested to see how a third defense pair of Juuso Riikola and Schultz would look. Riikola provides mobility and vision that Johnson does not, and Schultz would be placed in a better position to succeed on a nightly basis.

Whether it is deployed on a consistent basis this season or next, the Penguins appear to have found an inexpensive, young, and above-average defense pair in Marcus Pettersson and John Marino. Thanks for reading!