There was a point toward the end of last season that Marcus Pettersson found himself out of the lineup as a healthy scratch.
Now, Pettersson has become one of the Penguins' most important defensemen both at even-strength and on the penalty-kill.
Pettersson has some of the strongest on-ice metrics among Penguins defensemen this season, but even by simply watching his game, it's been apparent how impactful he's been not only in his own end, but further up the ice.
With Kris Letang no longer working as a regular on the penalty-kill, the opportunity opened for Pettersson to see an expanded role while short-handed.
The Penguins used Pettersson on the penalty-kill quite a bit during the 2019-20 season, but his short-handed time on-ice decreased considerably the following two seasons. This season, though, his nearly 35 minutes of short-handed ice-time already surpasses his short-handed ice-time totals from each of the past two seasons.
"Pretty good," Pettersson said when I asked for his assessment of his penalty-kill performance this season following morning skate here at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday. "I think, as a group, we've really come together. I think we're clicking in a different way now than we were early in the season. You want to work as a four-man unit out there, and I think our forwards really set the tone for our kill with how aggressive they are up the ice and stuff like that and stuff we've been talking about. I think I've played steady on it, but I think our forwards deserve a lot of credit for it."
Despite crediting the forwards, the fact remains that the Penguins are allowing significantly fewer shot attempts against and expected goals against when Pettersson is out on the kill than any other Penguins defenseman.
There was a bit of concern regarding Pettersson's physical play on the penalty-kill coming into this season, but that hasn't been a problem at all. As great as it is to have a reliable "crease-clearer," it's even better to have someone who can use their legs and stick to keep the puck from every reaching dangerous areas of the ice in the first place.
"I think I've grown my game to a defensive style that I'm really comfortable with," Pettersson said. "I think Todd (Reirden) and I worked since he got here, a lot, with that and how he wants us to play, so I think that's translated into the kill. Last year we had a really good kill, so it was tough to kind of bump somebody off there. I knew going into this year I had an opportunity to maybe get a couple looks on there, so I just want to make sure I took that opportunity and I feel like I have."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Casey DeSmith was held out of practice on Tuesday as a precaution for an upper-body injury, but he took the ice for morning skate. Sullivan said he's "fine."
• Tristan Jarry was the first goalie off the ice and will start against the Flames on Wednesday night, Sullivan confirmed. After allowing three or more goals in seven consecutive starts, Jarry had his first shutout of the season against the Jets last Saturday in Winnipeg. He is 6-3-2 this season with a .904 save percentage and 3.27 goals against average.
• Here are the players who took the option to participate in the morning skate: Evgeni Malkin, Brock McGinn, Rickard Rakell, Ryan Poehling, Teddy Blueger, Kasperi Kapanen, Pettersson, P.O Joseph, Chad Ruhwedel, Jarry, DeSmith.
• I wanted to share a couple of interesting stats from @ManicRegression on Twitter: 42% of Letang's shot attempts at 5-on-5 this season have been blocked, the highest percentage of his career. On all of his unblocked shot attempts, Letang is hitting the net 69% of the time, his lowest mark since the 2009-10 season.
It goes without saying, but Letang's willingness to shoot and his ability to hit the target must improve.
• Dan Vladar gets the start in goal for the Flames. He's 1-3-0 this season with an .881 save percentage and 3.33 goals against average.
• Puck drops at 7:08 p.m. tonight. Dejan Kovacevic will join me for your coverage of the game. There will be a pregame ceremony in honor of Malkin's 1,000th NHL game. Make sure to arrive a little earlier than usual if you'll be in attendance.