Categories: PenguinPoop

Penguins Update: Injuries a Blessing in Disguise?

It’s safe to say the Penguins have endured more than their share of hardship this year. With key performers such as Paul Martin and Rob Scuderi dropping like flies, the black and gold ranked fourth in the NHL with 161 man-games lost to injury as of December 15—a staggering total at this stage of the season.

While it’s never a good thing for players to suffer injuries, the virtual plague of misfortune may—in a roundabout way—have an upside.

All of the players summoned from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton have acquitted themselves well. Some have been downright terrific. Rangy defenseman Simon Despres has looked right at home logging top-pairing minutes. Highly regarded Brian Dumoulin, a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award in 2011-12, was solid in his first two games. Philip Samuelsson—son of Penguins legend Ulf Samuelsson—was cool and steady in his NHL debut.

Up front, Jayson Megna’s been a revelation with his blazing speed and timely scoring. Ditto sparkplug Chris Conner with his non-stop hustle. Imitating announcer Mike Lange’s proverbial bulldozer in a construction yard, Zach Sill’s hit anything that moves. Speedy ex-Flyer Harry Zolnierczyk hasn’t looked the least bit out of place during a pair of cameos. Brian Gibbons and Andrew Ebbett (broken ankle) performed ably when called upon.

Let’s not forget backup goalie Jeff Zatkoff, who’d surely be stopping pucks for the Baby Pens had veteran Tomas Vokoun not suffered a blood clot in training camp.

Along with gaining valuable NHL experience, the newcomers have instilled a hunger and drive that was lacking from the Penguins’ mix earlier in the season. They just might provide GM Ray Shero with some added flexibility come the trade deadline, too.

Rick Buker

Recent Posts

A Penguins Trade For One More Run On The Cheap-ish

  Over the last few days, fans and some in the sports media have been…

18 hours ago

Penguins Bop Canadiens, Bag Second Win in a Row

  Once again eschewing their preferred run-and-gun style in favor of a more focused, controlled…

24 hours ago

Penguins Update: Building Through the Draft Doesn’t Guarantee Success

If you’re a Penguins fan, you know the inevitable looms just ahead and around the…

2 days ago

Penguins Use Puck Luck to Pluck Ducks, 2-1

Well, our Penguins finally did it! They played a reasonably complete 60-minute game (62:35 actually)…

3 days ago

Ex-Penguins Update: Halloween Special

I thought I'd take a break from the relentlessly grim news surrounding our skidding Penguins…

4 days ago

Dubas’ Trade Strategy: Out with the Old, In with the New

  The Penguins are off to a rough start, to say the least. Over their…

4 days ago