SURPRISED? JOIN THE CLUB
The Penguins enter the final two games of this shortened regular season in contention for the NHL East Division title (and — gasp! — more?) Be honest. No one saw this coming in January? They have been a surprise built upon a host of surprises.
Like many, I had the Penguins pegged as a borderline playoff team, largely because of the stiff competition in the rugged NHL East Division.
If you’d have told me they would lose important players left and right, including Evgeni Malkin, Brian Dumoulin, Kasperi Kapanen, Brandon Tanev and Jason Zucker for nearly 100 games combined — and that their defense would fall apart nine games in — I likely would have predicted a playoff miss.
Instead, the Penguins have produced one of the finest regular seasons in franchise history. I’d rate it the third best, behind the positively loaded teams of 2012-13 and 1992-93, if they win the division.
This is Mike Sullivan’s finest coaching job, although I feel like I’ve written that column three or four times.
Yes, the Penguins and Sullivan will be judged solely by what they do in the playoffs. That is as it should be. The standard is the standard. But it shouldn’t prevent us from taking a moment to appreciate a regular season that incredibly could still wind up with the Penguins finishing anywhere from first to fourth in their division, which speaks to the quality of the teams around them.
If they beat the Buffalo Sabres in their final two games, the Penguins will have posted the third-best points percentage (.688) in franchise history, trailing only the 1992-93 team (.708) and the 2012-13 club (.750), which played only 48 games.
The 1992-93 team had the longest winning streak in NHL history. The 2012-13 “All In” team was so talented that Jarome Iginla wound up as a role player.
This team, by winning its final two, would be on pace for 113 points over an 82game season. Stunning, considering it has had the most impactful injuries of any team in the league. (Check the site mangameslost.com for the numbers on that.)
Question is, how have they done it?
Several developments were predictable. Sidney Crosby’s consistent greatness. Sullivan’s leadership. Dumoulin’s steady brilliance. Jake Guentzel’s goal scoring. Bryan Rust’s continued excellence.
But the surprises were what made the season. The things we didn’t know.
I’ll speak for myself here. I did not know … • Kapanen was this good. It’s tough to get a feel for a player until you see him every night. I didn’t realize he had this kind of scoring touch or such an ornery side — and credit Sullivan for that early season benching, which seemed to light Kapanen’s fire.
Kapanen is still only 24. He has the look of a potential star, not to mention a longtime partner for Malkin. Now, how about letting him use that speed on the penalty kill?
• Jim Rutherford would quit and be replaced by Ron Hextall and Brian Burke. Imagine somebody telling you that in early January. Imagine somebody telling Burke, who, like so many, had the Penguins on their deathbed.
Rutherford’s retreat obviously was the most stunning development of the season, and there is no way to measure what kind of impact it had on the club, which is 31-14-2 since the day he walked away.
This much is certain, though: He left a basket of parting gifts. If the Penguins win the Cup, Rutherford’s name absolutely belongs on it. This is his team.
• Cody Ceci and Mike Matheson would make for an outstanding second pair. This gets back to Rutherford’s gift basket. He finally bit the bullet on Jack Johnson and sought to make his defense more mobile and engaged offensively. He did. Now you wonder if the Penguins can survive losing Matheson (imagine somebody telling you that in January).
• Jared McCann would bounce back and spark a dormant power play in Malkin’s absence. You’ll recall McCann went the final 25 games of last season without a goal. People rightfully wondered about his future here. To his immense credit, he responded when desperately needed, unleashing his powerful shot and plenty of passion on a nightly basis. He’s only 24, too, and has set himself up for a nice next contract.
• Zach Aston-Reese would score a career-best nine goals.
• Kris Letang would settle into a more controlled game and still be a major point producer, with 43 in 53 games. He is thriving with a slight reduction in ice time.
Could it be that we have taken Letang for granted?
• So many deep-depth players would help in short spurts. Those would include Freddy Gaudreau, Pierre Olivier-Joseph, Anthony Angello, Radim Zahorna and Colton Sceviour, who has been nothing but a solid pro despite seemingly spending more time on waivers than the team bus.
• E. Rod would assert himself like this. For a while, it looked like Evan Rodrigues would go full Sergei Plotnikov and never score again. His future looked bleak. But an increased role, prompted by injuries, allowed for takeoff. The Penguins aren’t quite the same without him. Speed has again become their competitive advantage, and E Rod helps make it so.
• The goaltending, after a horrific start, would hang with the best in the East.
• Teddy Blueger would equal last season’s point total in 28 fewer games.
• Finally, I did not know Jeff Carter still had those wheels. I’m not sure Rutherford would have been able to pry Carter out of L.A., where he seemed entrenched, but Hextall had ties and made it happen.
So that worked out nicely. The whole season did.
Against very long odds.