Young defensemen to get mentor in veteran Streit

value of having a more veteran partner on the blue line. This year, he has played mostly with Brian Dumoulin, Justin Schultz and Ruhwedel, all 26 or younger.

Last season, his primary pairing was with Ben Lovejoy, then 32. When Pouliot first broke into the league in 2014, he saw ice time with veteran Rob Scuderi, an experience that still sticks with him today.

“I thought Rob Scuderi was a pretty good mentor,” Pouliot said. “I played with him a little bit when he was here. That experience always helps. It can help calm you down. Just somebody who knows and has been around the game for a while. It can help a lot.”

On Streit’s end, playing with someone 15 years his junior won’t exactly be a new experience, either. He bounced around the Flyers lineup this season but has spent at least 100 minutes of ice time with Ivan Provorov, 20, Radko Gudas, 26, and Shayne Gostisbehere, 23.

Provorov’s possession numbers improved when he was on the ice with Streit. The numbers weren’t as stark for the rest of the defensemen, but Gostisbehere — widely considered one of the best young defensemen in the league — appeared to be better defensively with Streit. His Goals Against per 60 minutes (GA/60) dropped from 3.25 to 1.85 when he was on the ice with Streit.

“We had a few young defensemen, and I try to mentor them and help them out,” Streit said. “Try to lead by example as much as possible. That was kind of my role the past few years, but now I’m really thrilled to play for the Penguins. Obviously, we want to win hockey games and go deep into the playoffs.”