Penguins Update: Concerned About Our ‘D’

Yesterday Dan Kingerski posted an article on Pittsburgh Hockey Now questioning Mike Sullivan’s seeming reluctance to use recently recalled defenseman Mark Friedman. I was all set to chime in with a comment when I decided to write an article of my own. So Dan, this one’s for you.

It’s not as if there isn’t reason or opportunity to use Friedman, especially with Jeff Petry on the shelf for eight more games, including this afternoon’s Metro square-off with Carolina. Brian Dumoulin’s struggles this season are an open secret around the league. Whether it’s the accumulation of wear and tear, injuries past and the fact that Dumo devoted his summer to rehabbing a knee instead of hockey training, his difficulties have been noticeable both statistically and to the eye test.

Accordingly, he’s been dropped from his long-time spot on the top pairing next to Kris Letang to the third pairing. While managing his exposure to top-flight competition has helped to an extent (Brian’s a plus-4 over his past 18 games), he and present partner Jan Rutta have been the target of heavy forechecking by foes. As a general rule, two stay-at-home defensemen don’t necessarily make an effective tandem, especially when your lifeblood is the transition game.

This is where inserting Friedman into the lineup could help in a big way. He’s mobile, moves the puck well and has good instincts for jumping into the play. Plus, he skates with a knife-blade edge.

Ah, therein lies the rub. For whatever reasons, Sullivan has an aversion to players known for their physicality. Jamie Oleksiak, Ryan Reaves, Erik Gudbranson, even Brandon Tanev who Sully seemed to like, have been shown the door following relatively brief stays in the ‘Burgh.

It’s as if our coach is concerned that players with a physical bent will take a penalty at an inopportune time. In fact, Sullivan pretty much said as much when commenting on Friedman’s play following a 5-1 victory over Tampa Bay on March 3. A game in which the peppery defender got into the kitchen of Lightning forwards Pat Maroon and Corey Perry.

“You know, we want him to play his game,” our coach said. “We want him to be who he is, but he’s got to make sure he stays on the right side of the line. The type of team that we have here and the type of game that we’re trying to play requires discipline in a lot of forms. And so, we don’t want to be a team that beats ourselves, and we want to be a team that plays to our strengths.”

While I can appreciate Sullivan’s concerns, it’s a fear that…in Friedman’s case…is largely unfounded. In fact, the opposite is true. In his 31 regular-season games wearing the black and gold, the Toronto native’s drawn 17 penalties and been whistled for only 10. I’ll take that trade-off any day.

I do understand at least some of Sullivan’s reluctance to make a Dumoulin-Friedman switch. For one, he prefers lefty-righty combos on defense. As a right-hand shot, Friedman would be playing his off side, where I personally think he’s more effective. Point No. 2, Dumo’s a big body and has been effective on the penalty kill, leading all Pens rearguards in short-handed ice time. With the PK humming after a dreadful start, I can appreciate Sully’s reluctance to switch things up.

Too, Dumoulin’s been so good for so long…a true stalwart. How do you bench a guy like that?

Still, I think it boils down to the fact that Friedman plays with an edge and unpredictability that makes Sullivan uncomfortable.

Too bad, because I think we could use what the feisty defender brings to the table.

Speaking of Our D…

I confess to being more than a tad worried about our defense with Petry on the shelf. He’s a do-it-all type of defenseman, solid in all aspects, and a minutes muncher to boot. In my mind, he’s the glue guy and the player we can least afford to lose back there, even over Letang.

Truth be told, Tristan Jarry’s been bailing out our defense with some sensational goaltending during our hot streak. This was especially evident last Thursday night against the Panthers. Our d-zone coverage, especially around the net, left something to be desired.

Right now it feels like our d’s being held together with Scotch tape and baling wire. A definite concern as we head into an eight-game stretch against league heavyweights, including two clashes with always nettlesome Carolina and key matchups against New Jersey, Boston and the New York teams.