Navigating challenging year, Penguins' P.O Joseph embraces elevated defensive role

In terms of pure pleasantness and personality, P.O Joseph has few peers across the NHL.

The 24-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman is known for possessing a friendly demeanor, rarely conducting interviews (except, perhaps, in the immediate aftermath of a loss) without a smile on his face.

Given how the season has started for Joseph, he could be forgiven for seeming a bit less bubbly.

Coming off his first full NHL season, in which he played 75 games for the Penguins, which more than quadrupled his prior career high (16) games played as a rookie in 2020-21, Joseph’s 2023-24 campaign was derailed early.

In November and December, Joseph endured an elongated stint on injured reserve that sidelined him for 16 games.

On top of battling through an undisclosed injury, more recently he had been scratched for six games, which included missing a pair of contests Dec. 30 and 31 because of illness.

But through it all, Joseph has continued to be his usual upbeat self.

“It’s been a challenging year with the start of the season not going so well, the injury occurring and the ups and downs,” Joseph said. “I’m just happy to be here learning from these guys. I think it’s a learning experience of a season so far, and I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself and from my teammates.”

Joseph re-entered the Penguins’ lineup Tuesday in a 4-3 home loss to Washington, logging 16 minutes, 21 seconds of ice time in his first game since Dec. 16.

The game proved notable for Joseph on a pair of fronts.

For starters, he notched an assist on Rickard Rakell’s goal at the end of the opening period, the first of three straight the Penguins scored before ultimately falling short of a successful comeback.

More interestingly, coach Mike Sullivan opted to pair Joseph with Erik Karlsson for much of the game. Joseph took the spot of Ryan Graves, whose struggles have become more glaring.

Sullivan kept Joseph and Karlsson together Thursday in Boston, a 6-5 Penguins victory.

“I think he’s one of those kids that’s willing and eager to learn and evolve his game,” Karlsson said. “Hopefully my experience can bring some steadiness to that and try to help him out as much as possible to be the best that he can be. He can do the same for me. We’ll see how it goes.”

Sullivan elevating Joseph from the club’s third pairing to an assignment with Karlsson is a calculated risk.

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Given Karlsson’s style of play, whoever is partnered with him assumes more of a defensive burden.

That said, Joseph has no intention to simply be a bystander when it comes to making offensive contributions.

“(Karlsson is) a high-skilled defenseman, and he’s thinking offense a lot, so whenever I can give the puck as much as possible and let him do his thing, he really is a remarkable player to look at and he’s awesome to look after,” Joseph said. “I’m just trying to be here for him and bring my game, as well.”

Per Natural Stat Trick, with Joseph and Karlsson on the ice together, the Penguins are outshooting opponents 34-14.

To be sure, that is from a small sample size.

But for comparison’s sake, the Graves-Karlsson pairing achieved a 69-60 advantage. Karlsson with his most regular partner to date this season, Marcus Pettersson, saw the Penguins outshoot opponents 231-215.

For Joseph, skating with Karlsson has translated into more minutes.

After averaging between 11 and 13 minutes earlier this season, through parts of two games with the three-time Norris Trophy winner, Joseph has been deployed in the 16-to-17-minute range.

On Thursday night, Joseph and Karlsson were on the ice together for their first goal against, a slick backhander at the crease by David Pastrnak in the first period.

David Pastrnak ties things up for the Bruins and now it's 2-2! Prepare for a barnburner!#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/MhAOvhCRib

— HighlightHarbor (@HighlightHarbor) January 5, 2024

With Graves ironing out some kinks on the third defensive pairing for the time being, Joseph and Karlsson will look to forge more chemistry.

“I think we support each other and understand the game really well,” Joseph said. “We have a lot to work on, but that’s usually what happens when you start working with different players. We just want to play an overall game.”