Game Changer (Penguins)

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Kris Letang is returning to the lineup tonight for Pittsburgh's game against the Detroit Red Wings.

Letang’s return to the lineup is an obvious game changer.

He's not a perfect hockey player, but what he brings to the Penguins has been exactly what they have been missing. Sometimes you don’t realize what you have until it is gone. I have certainly nitpicked his game and I do feel justified in doing so but that hyper-critical approach stems from what a high ceiling Letang has as a player. There is no debating that the Penguins are a worse team without Letang, unless you haven’t been watching the team the past few months.

Puck skills and dynamic skating have been sorely missed on the Penguins blue line and within the past week the Penguins have been lucky to receive a double boost on that front. What was a weakness for the Penguins returns to being a strength with Letang and Paul Martin back in the lineup.

Arguing over Simon Despres vs Robert Bortuzzo vs Deryk Engelland is now a moot point. None of them have a roster spot when the Penguins have their full complement of NHL defensemen healthy.

When the Penguins had Letang in the lineup they were a top-five possession team in the league. They have slipped badly in that department. If the Penguins can rise back to a top possession team, perform well on the power play, and at least have average penalty killing, they are in great shape for the playoffs. Especially when compared to the roster seven days ago.

Boston is still the runaway favorite in the East, today’s news does not change that. What does change is that the Penguins now have the ability to take on Boston and potentially win a hard fought series. This was not possible without Letang and Martin.

There will obviously be concern with Kris Letang’s health considering what he is coming back from but many qualified professionals have been monitoring his situation and have deemed him fit for game action. Letang had been suffering from dizziness lately; it was believed by some in the media that the dizzy spells were going to spell the end of the season for him, I agreed with that assessment. However, it appears this is not a new development.

My thoughts on this are that you have to trust your medical professionals; otherwise you need to find new ones.

The forward lineup tonight against Detroit should look like this:

As for the defense, it appears that Letang will be skating with Rob Scuderi in his first game back. Brooks Orpik will be with Martin and the Olli Maatta/Matt Niskanen pairing will remain intact. Man, that looks a lot better than it has in a long time.

It’s not just what Letang can do himself that helps the Penguins so much, it’s also what his presence does to the other defensemen. Matt Niskanen and Olli Maatta will not have to play the incredibly tough minutes they have been accustomed to all year long. The Penguins have the best “bottom pairing… defense in the NHL now. The last time the Penguins won the Cup, Letang was in their bottom pairing. Maatta can more than fill that role this season. Niskanen is also better than Mark Eaton. The Penguins now have defensive depth (did I just type that?).

All that remains is getting a healthy Evgeni Malkin in the lineup and we can finally assess the 2013-2014 Pittsburgh Penguins appropriately.

I think a lot of pundits from around the league haven’t given enough credence to the Penguins injuries this season. They have yet to field their best roster. I couldn’t think of a better time to do so.

Welcome back Kris Letang.

Thanks for reading!

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