Penguins among NHL leaders in fewest covid absences

Considering the likes of Evgeni Malkin, Brandon Tanev, Teddy Blueger, Brian Dumoulin and others have missed weeks at a time, the Penguins have had one of the NHL’s most pockmarked lineups this season.

Through Wednesday, their total of 107 man-games lost is the eighth-highest total in the NHL this season, according to NHL Injury Viz.

But those absences have been primarily limited to injuries traditionally associated with the wear and tear of hockey.

As far as covid-19 is concerned, the Penguins have been one of the league leaders in fewest man-games lost with seven, per The Sporting News.

Through Wednesday, that total was tied for the eighth fewest in the NHL.

The Buffalo Sabres have the lowest with only one game, though their figure is skewed as a number of their games were postponed because of several of their players being placed on the league’s list of absences related to covid-19 earlier this season.

In contrast, the Detroit Red Wings have the league’s highest total at 40.

“We’ve tried our very best to stay diligent and in trying to follow the protocols to the best of our ability,” coach Mike Sullivan said via video conference. “Our players have done a really good job of staying vigilant, both while being at the rink but also, maybe more importantly, away from the rink and just trying to mitigate the risk as best we can. We’re all in a unique circumstance, we understand that. You can do all the right things and still have an outbreak. We understand that as well. That’s just the reality of the world right now.

“But what we have discussed as a team and continue to discuss as a team is making sure that we do everything within our power to mitigate that risk and make sure that we’re making good choices and good decisions, both when we’re at the rink but also away from the rink, so that we give ourselves the best chance to avoid that type of a circumstance. The players have done a really good job in that regard.”

Pettersson’s production

With so many injuries, the Penguins have been finding offense from all sorts of alternative sources, including their third defensive pair. Namely, Marcus Pettersson.

In two of the Penguins’ previous three games, Pettersson helped open the Penguins’ scoring with passes out of the defensive zone.

First, during a 5-2 road win against the New York Rangers on April 8, his cross-ice pass from behind his blue line sprung rookie forward Radim Zohorna for a goal off the right wing. Then, in the early stages of 5-2 road win against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, Pettersson banked a pass from his own high slot off the boards, allowing Colton Sceviour to initiate a scoring rush off the right wing.

“Marcus has done a real nice job as of late just taking what the game gives him,” Sullivan said. “We’ve always believed Marcus is a guy that sees the ice pretty well, isn’t just an ‘off-the-glass-and-out’ guy that can make a first pass or go tape to tape when the opportunities present themselves because he has the instincts and the vision to see it and execute it. That’s an aspect of Marcus’ game that we think goes unnoticed. He’s been better at it as of late more consistently, and certainly that’s an area where we know he can help us become a better team and certainly help our transition game.”

Lagace recalled

The Penguins recalled goaltender Max Lagace from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League and assigned him to the taxi squad. In eight AHL games this season, Lagace has a 4-3-1 record, a 2.10 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.