Grading the Penguins: The defensemen and goaltenders

The Penguins passed the midway point of the season on Sunday when they played their 42nd game of 2019-20, a 4-1 home loss to the Florida Panthers. Through Monday, they are in second place of the Metropolitan Division with a 25-12-5 record and 55 points.

How have the Penguins done on an individual basis?

The following is an unscientific assessment of how the Penguins currently on the roster have looked through the first half and change of the season.

Yesterday, the forwards. Today, the defensemen and the goaltenders.

Defensemen

Kevin Czuczman – Incomplete: A trusted veteran at the AHL level, Czuczman is only on the NHL roster at the moment because injuries have taxed the organization’s depth in Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Something really bad has to happen for him to get into the lineup.

Brian Dumoulin – B: Attendance matters for this exercise and Dumoulin has missed more than a month because of lacerated tendons in his left ankle. Otherwise, he’d have an A. Before the injury, he was the team’s top defensive player and arguably, it’s most trusted.

Jack Johnson – C-plus: After playing most of 2018-19 on the right side because of an injury to Justin Schultz, his off side, Johnson has been virtually bolted down to the left side this season and has been remarkably “quieter.” That’s to say he hasn’t been nearly as noticeable, which is a good thing for a player expected to play sturdy defense. He’ll likely never live up to the contract management gave him in the summer of 2018, but he’s been a much more steady, reliable presence in his second season with the organization.

Kris Letang – A-minus: Letang continues to be one of the team’s least replaceable entities as he regularly leads the team in ice time and is used in virtually every situation on the ice. Few people have gained the trust of Mike Sullivan and management quite like Letang, even as crucial errors have crept into his game recently.

John Marino – A: Relatively few people within the organization had any idea Marino would blossom as quickly as he has in his rookie season. With 19 points in 40 games, he has offered a remarkably steady and confident presence in his first professional season. It’s curious to see how he’ll handle upwards of 70 games in a season, but he’s shown few signs of being overwhelmed by the NHL game to this point.

Marcus Pettersson – B-minus: In his first full season with the team, Pettersson has largely continued to show what he offered last season when he was acquired in December of 2018 in a trade as a steady defensive presence with a good stick. While he has a few hiccups with one-on-one sequences, he’s added a subtle offensive dimension to his game this season.

Juuso Riikola – C: It’s hard to really gauge where Riikola is in his second North American season considering he was forced into being used as a forward for a handful of games. When he has been on the blue line, he’s been fairly steady but hardly noticeable while inhabiting the third pairing primarily. He has some gifts with a blistering slapper and a penchant for hitting but rarely displays them.

Chad Ruhwedel – C: Ruhwedel continues to be the reliable reserve defenseman he has been throughout his Penguins career. Largely a “break glass in case of emergency” entity, the Penguins have had to utilize him probably far too often than management would like. When he’s been in the lineup, he usually makes the safe, correct play and seldom takes chances.

Justin Schultz – D: Limited to 27 games and eight points this season because of various injuries, Schultz’s timing has been rotten in that he’s having an underwhelming season as a pending unrestricted free agent. His offensive game, long his calling card, has been somewhat inert when he is in the lineup. Once he’s healthy, he’ll need a big second half of the season, as well as postseason, to cash in as a free agent.

Goaltenders

Tristan Jarry – A-plus: Jarry largely made the roster out of training camp because he was a cheaper option than incumbent backup Casey DeSmith for the Penguins, who were up against the upper limits of the salary cap. After largely being limited to the second game of back-to-back sequences from October through mid-November, Jarry has wrestled the starting job from a struggling Matt Murray to become one of the NHL’s best goaltenders over the past two months.

Matt Murray — C-plus: For the first time in his NHL career, injuries haven’t been a stumbling block for Murray. He just simply hasn’t played well since mid-November after a strong start to the season. After going 9-3-1 in his first 14 games of the season, Murray has gone 3-3-3 in his past nine contests. It’s more than fair to have greater expectations for the player seeking a lucrative contract extension as a pending restricted free agent.

Follow the Penguins all season long.