Penguins remain contenders despite being decimated by injuries

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been kicked, punched, smashed and smacked in every way possible this season.

No NHL team arguably has had worse injury luck. Some nights the skaters not dressing are more impressive than the ones who are.

Yet somehow, the Penguins are right where they always are: in Stanley Cup contention. They’ve been knocked around every which way, but they’re still in line to extend their playoff streak to 14 years.

“For the most part, our guys have played pretty competitive hockey and have deserved a lot of the points we’ve accumulated,” said coach Mike Sullivan, a contender for the Jack Adams Award. “I give our players a lot of credit. We’re fighting. We’re competing hard. It’s never from a lack of effort with this group.”

The Penguins have lost a league-high 174 man games because of injury or illness as of Thursday, according to the website Man-Games Lost. That number still doesn’t sum up how impactful those absences have been.

Superstar Sidney Crosby has missed 27 games. Fellow Hart Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin has missed 13. Leading scorer Jake Guentzel, named an All-Star for the first time, is out four to six months after undergoing right shoulder surgery Dec. 31.

Other core players who have missed time include defenseman Kris Letang (eight games), right wing Bryan Rust (14) and right wing Patric Hornqvist (17).

Through it all, the Penguins have endured. They’ve played smart, disciplined hockey (they rank 26th in penalty minutes) and kept finding ways to win games. They have the third-best goal differential in the NHL at plus-31.

“We’ve talked a lot about managing games and making good decisions and paying attention to details like line changes and decisions late in shifts and things of that nature so that we don’t put ourselves in tough spots,” Sullivan said.

Of course, there’s more to it than that. Guentzel was spectacular before getting hurt. Malkin, Rust and Letang have been great when healthy.

The Penguins also are getting surprising production where it matters most: in net. Goaltender Tristan Jarry has been a revelation.

The 24-year-old has a .934 save percentage and 2.04 goals-against average in 21 games. He was named to the Metropolitan Division All-Star team on Tuesday.

“It surprised me,” Jarry said. “It’s exciting. It’s something that every kid dreams of. You watch it every year, and you always think it would be cool to be a part of it. It’s something that I’ll take in stride.”

Jarry’s attitude reflects what the Penguins have been doing all season: rolling with the punches. So far, it’s working.

Firing trend

Peter Laviolette learned a painful lesson when he was fired as the Nashville Predators’ coach Monday: It pays to have goaltending. The three other coaches fired for on-ice performance this season can say the same thing.

The Predators ranked 28th in team save percentage when Laviolette was fired. Mike Babcock’s Toronto Maple Leafs were 23rd when he was canned, Peter DeBoer’s San Jose Sharks were 28th and John Hynes’ New Jersey Devils were 30th.

Hynes at least landed on his feet. He took Laviolette’s job with the Predators on Tuesday.

He better hope his goalies start stopping the puck.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.