Schultz has made an impact since return

MONTREAL — Justin Schultz on Saturday returned to Bell Centre for the first time since fracturing his ankle in the fourth game of the season.

In that Oct. 13 game, a 4-3 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens, Schultz was jostling in the corner with Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec, who has since retired. The defenseman’s left skate got caught in the ice and his leg buckled underneath him. He remained down for several minutes.

He underwent surgery in Pittsburgh the next day, getting a plate inserted in his lower leg, and was out for four months before returning Feb. 16.

The Penguins probably were not sure of exactly what to expect from Schultz from a physical or psychological standpoint when he returned from such a gruesome injury. He made an impact right away.

They didn’t realize then just how important he would become. Olli Maatta had just separated his shoulder, but they still had numbers on the blue line. Then last weekend they lost their top defensive pair, Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin, and fellow defender Chad Ruhwedel was injured Tuesday.

“He’s been critical,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s been an important part of it, especially given some of the guys that we have out right now.”

Sullivan provided no updates on the injured defensemen before Saturday’s game. He also shrugged off a question about the impact it could have on the Penguins as they try to secure a playoff spot over the next month.

“Every team goes through injuries. We just happened to get hit right now,” Sullivan said. “It’s going to provide opportunities for other guys to step up and play a more significant role than maybe they’ve been accustomed to. And these guys have got to be willing to embrace the challenge.”

Schultz recorded two assists in Friday’s 4-3 overtime loss in Buffalo, giving him a goal and five assists in seven games since his return. In the team’s previous three games he averaged more than 27 minutes of ice time.

“He’s a real good player,” Sullivan said. “He’s a good puck-mover. He defends with his mobility and his stick and his hockey sense. Offensively, I think he’s been real good for us. He’s helped us on the power play.”

Back-to-back for Murray

For the first time this season, Matt Murray started on consecutive nights.

Sullivan likes to split between his two goalies games during back-to-backs, especially when there is travel involved. But given how close the Eastern Conference standings are right now, Sullivan stuck with his No. 1.

“With Matt’s body of work to this point, he hasn’t played in a significant amount of games. He’s fresh. I thought he played pretty strongly [Friday],” he said. “He’s the guy that’s going to give us the best chance to win.”

Murray last started backto-back nights March 31 and April 1 of last year. The Penguins used him in that capacity a few times last season.

McCann put on top line

Jared McCann started Saturday’s game on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. McCann had five goals in his first 14 games since the Penguins acquired him and Nick Bjugstad from the Florida Panthers last month. He had two goals in Tuesday’s win in Columbus.

McCann played on the left wing. Guentzel, typically on Crosby’s left, switched over to his right side.

Sullivan moved Patric Hornqvist to the third line, skating alongside Bjugstad and Dominik Simon. Hornqvist scored a power-play goal Friday to end a scoreless skid at 18 games.

Canadiens sticking around

When the Canadiens beat the Penguins twice in the first four games of the season, it appeared it was a case of the Penguins simply taking an inferior team lightly. But here we are, five months later, and they entered Saturday with a 35-23-7 record, putting them two points ahead of the Penguins.

Other than Carey Price, still considered one of the best goalies in the NHL, the Canadiens don’t have much star power. Entering Saturday, none of their players had hit the 60-point plateau. But six had tallied at least 40.

How are they doing it? Sullivan cited “a good overall team game.”

The Penguins coach added: “They’ve gotten some good years out of guys like [Max] Domi and [Tomas] Tatar and players like that. … I think their transition game, their quickness might be some of their best attributes.”