Three Months Down; Penguins Staying Focused
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Heading in 2017, the Pittsburgh Penguins look like they have the chance to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions. They are in second place in the Metropolitan Division with a 25-8-5 record and 55 points.
The reason why they aren't in first place is because the Columbus Blue Jackets have won 15 straight games and have 56 points. Despite all of that, the Penguins are just trying to worry about their own business as the season moves forward.
Matt Murray has played well for them so far this season. He has a 13-3-1 record with a 2.18 GAA and a .928 save percentage. He is currently sidelined with a lower-body injury. Murray is week-to-week and luckily, the Penguins are on a bye week next week so he may not miss much game action.
Marc-Andre Fleury has found his groove back after it looked like this team gave up on him a month ago. He is 12-5-4 with a 3.12 GAA and a .909 save percentage. He might be giving up some unfortunate goals, but Fleury is making some big saves.
Tristan Jarry has been called up to be the backup in the mean time for Fleury. As for the defense, Justin Schultz has been on a tear lately. He wasn't doing much before the month of December, but he now has 7 goals and 17 assists this season.
Kris Letang and Trevor Daley have recently been sidelined with injuries, but they just returned to game action. When those guys were sidelined, they gave Derrick Pouliot a chance, but he was sent back down to the minors. It shows what they think of him.
On offense, Sidney Crosby has 26 goals and 16 assists so far this season. He currently leads the league in goals. Crosby is also neck and neck with Connor McDavid for the most points in the league. Crosby's buddy, Evgeni Malkin, has 16 goals and 27 assists. Fan favorite Phil Kessel, has 12 goals and 26 assists.
Key roles players like Conor Sheary (9 goals and 13 assists), Patric Hornqvist (9 goals and 13 assists), and Bryan Rust (10 goals and 6 assists), have been playing surprisingly well for the Penguins. Their speed and presence in front of the net is causing headaches for opponents.
Pittsburgh's power play percentage is 22.5% (4th in NHL). They have a 79.7% on the penalty kill (24th in NHL), but it has looked better lately. They have scored 133 goals and given up 107 goals so far this season. Mike Sullivan has done a good job pressing the right buttons for this team once again. Hopefully it pays off for them as the season goes on.
