Schultz’s defense showing signs of enormous progress
downright responsible in his team’s end. Effective, too.
While he likely isn’t going to be mistaken for, say, Rod Langway anytime soon, Schultz no longer is a liability anytime he strays inside of his own blue line.
“He deserves a lot of credit for the effort, the commitment level he’s shown,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Friday.
Schultz and Ian Cole form a defense pairing that is No. 3 on the Penguins’ depth chart, but which has been the team’s most consistent and reliable tandem this season.
Plus-minus is a statistic whose merits and value are open to debate, but it’s worth noting that Schultz enters the Penguins’ game against Detroit tonight at 7:08 at PPG Paints Arena with a teambest plus-10. He never was better than minus-17 with the Oilers.
Then again, Schultz didn’t often make game-saving defensive plays in Edmonton, as he did in the Penguins’ 6-2 victory against Dallas Thursday.
With 9:20 left in the third period and the Penguins defending a 3-2 lead, Antoine Roussel, the Stars’ rugged left winger, was poised to corral a loose puck near the left side of the crease, and possibly toss it past Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
Before he could, however, Schultz threw a shoulder into Roussel, then dropped to the ice to prevent Roussel from getting his stick on the puck before it could be cleared out of danger.
“Just desperation, and trying to keep it out of our net any way possible,” Schultz said. “It worked that time.”
Whether Schultz would have made such an inspired effort a year ago is hard to say. There’s very little question, however, about whether it would have worked out as well then.
“I probably would have tried,” Schultz said, smiling. “They might have scored, though.”
Sullivan said assistant coaches Jacques Martin and Rick Tocchet and defenseman coach Sergei Gonchar have invested considerable time in Schultz’s development, on the ice and in video study, but that Schultz is the individual most responsible for the upgrade.
His play away from the puck and positioning in the defensive zone are markedly better, and he has become far more effective at using his stick defensively. He still gets pretty good use out of it at the other end of the rink, too.
Schultz’s mobility and puck skills inspired a bidding war for his services when he left Wisconsin in 2012 — “His offensive instincts are very evident,” Sullivan said — and elevating his defensive play doesn’t appear to be hurting his point production much.
Schultz has one goal and seven assists in 24 games. That projects to 27 points over a full season, which is a bit off his career-high of 33 set in 2013-14.
“I feel like I’ve been getting chances,” he said. “I feel pretty confident with the puck right now.
“The chances are going to come. It’s just a matter of taking care of your own end, getting the puck back and then you can go on to the fun part of the game.”