Jake Guentzel is the most recent name on a long list of injuries for the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, and it comes at a point in the year when his team will be tested.
There’s never a good time to lose a star player, but for the Penguins, it doesn’t get much worse than this. Guentzel was in the midst of an NHL-best 13-game point streak, during which time he tallied 12 goals and seven assists. The Pittsburgh winger leads the team in both goals (15) and points (27) so far this season.
Replacing Guenztel won’t be easy, as the Penguins are still without Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust, leaving them without three of their top six forwards. That has been the story for most of season in Pittsburgh, as others, such as captain Sidney Crosby, have also missed time.
Still, the Penguins have found a way to be successful to this point in spite of the injury misfortunes. The team boasts the best penalty killing unit in the NHL, turning away opposing power plays 91.9% of the time. Pittsburgh has also gotten strong goaltending from Tristan Jarry, who has a 1.92 goals against average (third in the NHL) and a .934 save percentage (tied for sixth). Both the PK and goaltending numbers are drastic improvements over those of a season ago.
What the Penguins must navigate, however, is how to maintain those numbers while simultaneously replacing the production of their top winger. The power play for the Pens has struggled, and players like Malkin and Rust do not appear as though they’ll be immediately available. The depth in Pittsburgh has been tested all season, with players like Evan Rodrigues and Danton Heinen stepping up and playing well in their respective roles. This stretch without Guentzel will allow the organization to continue to assess the strength of its depth players, while also putting pressure on the stars that are healthy.
The Guentzel injury does not come at a great time, but it comes at a potentially telling time, given the upcoming schedule for the Penguins. I think it’s fair to say that we still don’t know exactly what Pittsburgh is. The team’s record is 12-8-5, currently good enough for a wild card spot, but having not seen this club with its full compliment of players, how do we know what to expect moving forward?
The remainder of the December schedule for the Pens could potentially offer insight into what this team could be capable of the rest of the way. They begin with a back-to-back against the division-leading Washington Capitals, then the surprisingly good Anaheim Ducks. Those are two quality teams on the horizon, with the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs lurking later this month. Games such as those ones are good measuring sticks and would give the team reason to be optimistic if they perform well with a shorthanded lineup.
In between the upcoming back-to-back and the eventual trip to the northeast, come five games against teams that are below the Pens in the standings. Even without its best players in the lineup, a team like Pittsburgh, which has championship aspirations, would want to earn a healthy majority of its possible points against the bad Montreal Canadiens, the struggling Buffalo Sabres, the young New Jersey Devils, and the slumping Philadelphia Flyers. Toss in a New Year’s Eve trip to Ottawa, and there are winnable games this month. If Pittsburgh can’t manage to emerge from December with some favorable results, it could be a sign that the bottom portion of the roster isn’t equipped for a playoff run.
It’s an intriguing mix of tough opponents and weak opponents, and it could paint a helpful picture of just how good (or not so good) the Penguins’ depth is. So, the Pens will be tested without Jake Guentzel, yet the expectation for the rest of the calendar year will be to compete with the top teams and take care of the bottom teams. It’s an interesting juggling act that will help determine whether or not the Penguins are to be taken seriously come playoff time.