CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- No one would dare suggest that he is in the Norris Trophy running this season, and the numbers simply bear that out. But Justin Schultz is having a very Justin Schultz-like season.
Which is a nice way of saying that, although the defenseman isn't having the breakout season he enjoyed last year, he's still been very effective along the Penguins blue line.
"I think Schultzie's been one of our most consistent defenseman at both ends of the rink," Mike Sullivan was saying after practice Wednesday at the Lemieux Sports Complex.
Schultz has 14 points in 35 games this season which puts him on pace for 23 points or 0.40 points per game, jibing with his six-year career average of 0.46. The outlier in Schultz's career was last season, when he recorded 51 points (12 goals, 39 assists) to rank seventh among all defensemen.
Of course, that was last year. That was when Kris Letang went down with a neck injury that sidelined him in late February for the rest of the season and Schultz moved to the fore, quarterbacking the No. 1 power play as the Penguins captured their second straight Stanley Cup. In 2016-17, Schultz scored 20 of his 51 points while averaging 2:45 per game on the power play. This season, he has six assists while averaging 2:17 on the second unit and just 1:23 less time per game.
Those offensive numbers would probably be higher if he hadn't missed 17 games earlier this season with a concussion and a lower body -- presumably ankle -- injury. Schultz was forced out of the lineup for 11 games after getting the back of his legs rolled up by the Rangers' Rick Nash on Dec. 5:
Other than that, the Penguins insist that he's been the same. Since returning to the lineup on Jan. 2, he has four assists in 12 games.
"Yeah, I'm feeling good, a little better all the time," Schultz said. "But honestly, I think the whole team's doing better. You can see that out there now. I've got no complaints at all."
He smiled that big gap-toothed smile. That hasn't always been there this season.
"It's frustrating when you get those injuries," said Olli Maatta, Schultz's current defense partner and a player who has known his own frustration with injuries. "But every time he's hopped back on, he's been the same old Schultzie we've known. He's playing at a great level."
Indeed, Schultz's possession numbers at even strength from this season (a 49.36 Corsi For percentage) are almost equivalent to last season (51.24). And far more important than stats, his return coincided with the Penguins going 9-3 in January and shooting to second place in the Metropolitan Division. That's not a coincidence. The Penguins are playing their best hockey and, after a bout with injuries, so is Schultz.
"His game is bang-on," said Sullivan. "From a coaching standpoint, he brings everything to our team that he's brought the last couple of seasons. He's a mobile defenseman. He gets back to pucks. He'll take hits to make plays. He joins the rush really well. He's one of the better defensemen in the league, I think, at seeing opportunity off the offensive blue line. The way he activates off the offensive blue line, he jumps into windows of opportunity as good as any defenseman in the league."
Case in point was Schultz's pinch at the blue line which set up Daniel Sprong -- hey, remember that guy? -- on Jan. 5 against the Islanders in Brooklyn:
In other words, he's everything Sullivan seeks in his defensemen.
"I take pride -- and I think all of us do -- in our game with the puck," Schultz said. "I mean, we've all got our own styles, and we're all individuals, but we're a better team when we've got the puck."
It should have been no surprise that one of the first orders of business after Sullivan was hired was to bring in Schultz.
The Penguins acquired Schultz from Edmonton for a third-round pick in 2016 who turned out be Filip Berglund, who is still plying his trade in Sweden. Save for the Rob Scuderi for Trevor Daley deal, it may have been the finest trade Jim Rutherford has swung. It also might be the most impactful long-term. At 27, Schultz still has plenty of hockey left in him.
He might never be the Norris winner so many predicted when he came out of the University of Wisconsin in 2012, but Schultz is a far better fit in Pittsburgh than he was in Edmonton when he was asked to carry the defensive load on a team that couldn't spell it. In Pittsburgh, the quiet Schultz can thrive in the sizable shadow cast by Letang, even if that means fewer points than last season. But Maatta believes that's about to change.
"He's getting a lot of good chances, and I think it's going to turn at some point for him," the Finn said. "He's shooting the puck really well. It's just hitting a knob or shoulder all the time. It's just a matter of inches right now. But he's definitely going to turn it around."
