Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel feels all right on the left side

A healthy scratch for 10 of a possible 15 games this season, Chad Ruhwedel isn’t going to be overly picky over the circumstances that will allow him to be in the lineup.

And being asked to play the left side of a defensive pairing as a right-handed defenseman is a mere inconvenience compared to the specter of watching his teammates play from the elevated confines of the press box.

Such has been the case for the Penguins’ two most recent games.

With rookie left-handed defenseman P.O Joseph sidelined because of an undisclosed injury, Ruhwedel found himself on the port side of the third pairing while fellow right-hander Jan Rutta manned the starboard side.

Ruhwedel suggests the adjustments necessary for playing his off side are minimal.

“Just how you see the ice,” Ruhwedel said. “Your other eye, your other shoulder is facing up ice most of the time. You have to make other concerted plays on your backhand, just all that kind of stuff.”

The results with the Ruhwedel-Rutta pairing have been mixed.

During a 4-2 road win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday, the pairing was on the ice for two goals for and zero against, 11 shots attempts for and six against during five-on-five play (according to Natural Stat Trick).

One of those goals was scored by forward Evgeni Malkin, and it was made possible by Ruhwedel stealing a puck while on his off side.

From his own right circle, Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews failed to properly clear a puck from the defensive zone and had the puck intercepted at the left point by Ruhwedel. Taking the puck from his backhand to his forehand, Ruhwedel whipped a wrister at the net. Maple Leafs defenseman T.J. Brodie blocked the shot with right skate, and the rebound bounced to the right circle where Malkin cleaned it up with a forehand shot.

“He kept his cool,” Rutta said of his partner. “He got the puck to the net. He did a good job, and we got rewarded.”

One night later, in a 5-4 overtime road loss to the Montreal Canadiens, the pair was not on the ice for any goals during five-on-five sequences but the Canadiens had nine shot attempts for (and four against) when Ruhwedel and Rutta were deployed.

This deployment may just be temporary. Joseph was a full participant in practice Monday in Cranberry. And before Saturday’s game, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told media in Montreal that Joseph was healthy enough to play but he was still dealing with the aftereffects of his ailment at that time.

Regardless, Sullivan indicated he is very comfortable using Ruhwedel in a situation that is not always comfortable for the defenseman who has to play his off side.

“He’s made that adjustment pretty well for us,” Sullivan said following Monday’s practice. “We’ve tried to give him a lot of (repetitions) on that side for obvious reasons. The beauty of Chad’s game is just in his simplicity. He plays within himself, he defends hard, he’s a mobile guy, he can skate. He’s a competitive guy. … He’s made the adjustment well playing that left side. That’s not always an easy thing to do for a defenseman in particular, playing that off side. He’s done an admirable job in doing what we’re asking him to do to help us win games.

“The (sequence) in Toronto is a great example of that adjustment and his ability to make that play. The hardest part for a defenseman in playing the off side is — on the offensive side — in the neutral zone counters is receiving that ‘D-to-D’ (defenseman-to-defenseman) pass. Do you take it on your backhand? Do you take it on your forehand? The positioning of that, there’s a lot of subtleties with receiving that pass. Same thing on the breakout below the goal line. If we got ‘D-to-D’ below the goal line and you’re on your off side, there are subtleties to that skill, that one specific individual skill in just receiving that ‘D-to-D’ play. It’s a simpler play — put it that way — when you’re on your strong side and you’re just receiving it on your forehand because most of those instances, you’re trying to make that play under pressure. Chad has done a real good job of working at it.”

Note: Former Penguins goaltender Matt Murray is slated to start for the Maple Leafs in Tuesday’s game against the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. Traded from the Penguins to the Ottawa Senators in October of 2020, Murray has yet to play the Penguins as a visitor in the two-plus years since that transaction.

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