Letang's Absence Will Show Us what Team the Penguins Really Are
April 5, 2017, Pittsburgh Penguins General Manager Jim Rutherford announces defenseman Kris Letang will be out 4-6 months due to surgery on a herniated disk in his neck.
The Pittsburgh Penguins had been injury plagued before the regular season even started. First it was Sidney Crosby who suffered a concussion, only missing six games. But those injuries quickly added up, as fans saw more and more players take a spot on the injury report. Some fans are convinced it's the ghost of Beau Bennett, some blame it on the short offseason, though all the fans just hope that the team can get through one game injury-free. But now with the news that their star defenseman Kris Letang is out until next season, Pittsburgh has gone into a mixture of chaos and heartbreak.
No one can replace Kris Letang. No one can lead the breakout like Kris Letang. No one can quarterback the power play like Kris Letang. No one can clock the ice time like Kris Letang. His hole will be the Penguins Achilles heel for the remainder of the year, and you can't ignore it. You can do your best to mask the weakness with key players elevating their game, such as Justin Schultz (without him, the club would be doomed). However, as big as Schultz, Ian Cole, and Brian Dumolin have contributed they can't, even as a whole, replace Letang. You can see it in the goals allowed category, where Pittsburgh ranks 16th in the league.
Luckily for the Penguins, they've hidden that stat due to ranking first in the league in goals scored. They've called winger Jake Guentzel up from the AHL, while Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust have become staples in the lineup. Of course, when you have Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel, you're bound to be a league leading scoring team. But even with headline names such as those, there's a spark missing. In Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals last year, Kris Letang scored the game winner by displaying a crazy individual showcase. Fake slapshot at the left defense spot, spin move down the wall, toe drag into the corner, pass to the slot, set up inches above the goal line on the right wall, one-timer, light the lamp. You just can't replace that.
Now, the Penguins are still standing with the second best record in the entire league, despite Kris Letang only playing 41 games, and somehow haven't missed a beat heading into the playoffs. Thank Head Coach Mike Sullivan, who has complete control of the locker room in his first full year in the position. He's demanded accountability from everybody the moment he stepped into the locker room and has gotten that and much more. His time down in Wilkes-Barre has helped younger Penguins players transition into the big league easier and more comfortably. You can also shine the light on goaltender Matt Murray. Despite also starting the regular season injured, and having to share time with Marc-Andre Fluery, he is fifth in the league in save percentage and is putting up historic numbers for a rookie. Now he has faltered a little last March, but he has been the Penguins safety net when teams have exploited the hole Letang has left.
Obviously, this years postseason will be different in a vast number of ways than last years. They have recently won some key divisional games and *knock on wood* are starting to get hot. However, these next couple of weeks will show the true character of that 23-man roster. It will show the mastermind strategy and game plan of that coaching staff. It will show the killer instinct and hunger in the offense. And it will show the desperation and determination on the blue line. So buckle up Pittsburgh, playoff hockey is about to start.
