Penguins find balance with Erik Karlsson-Matt Grzelcyk defensive pairing

Back in mid-December, Marcus Pettersson landing on injured reserve forced the Pittsburgh Penguins to do some tinkering on the blue line.

Pettersson had been Erik Karlsson’s defensive partner since Karlsson debuted with the Penguins last season.

But beginning Dec. 17 against the Los Angeles Kings, coach Mike Sullivan inserted Matt Grzelcyk next to the three-time Norris Trophy winner.

Since then, the Penguins’ overall play has fluctuated, but Karlsson and Grzelcyk have remained together.

Save for Jan. 17 against the Buffalo Sabres, when Kris Letang was absent because of illness, Karlsson and Grzelcyk have been deployed together in 16 of the Penguins’ last 17 games.

“I think they’ve been pretty solid,” Sullivan said of the Karlsson-Grzelcyk pairing. “That’s one of the reasons why we’ve kept them there. If we didn’t like it, we would have switched. They’re both pretty good puck movers, they see the ice really well, they’re competitive guys (and) they’re defending hard. We like the pair.

“Marcus and (Letang) have played a lot together in their time here, and we felt like when (Letang) came back off of injury and Marcus the same, that gives us a pretty solid top four. We like the combinations there, and that’s one of the reasons we’ve kept them.”

At the start of the season, Sullivan utilized Grzelcyk with Letang to form the Penguins’ top defensive pairing.

Of late, Letang — who was on injured reserve at the end of December and into early January — has paired with Pettersson.

Whether with Letang or Karlsson, Grzelcyk’s role is mainly to serve as the defensive counterweight to both offensively minded blue liners.

That said, Letang and Karlsson have different tendencies and styles.

“They’re two very special players, and I think they have different qualities to them that make them go,” Grzelcyk said. “It’s just about finding chemistry and where to be on the ice at certain times. On the (defensive) side, maybe (Letang) is a little more aggressive in terms of, like, closing plays off, but (Karlsson) going the other way is one of the best at jumping in the play and being that fourth man in the attack.

“They both have great qualities and are capable of playing a 200-foot game, so it’s a treat getting to play with both of them.”

While Grzelcyk will never outshine Letang or Karlsson on offense, the 31-year-old, in his first season with the Penguins, has enjoyed a productive campaign, contributing a goal and career-high 24 assists through 48 games.

Grzelcyk is closing in on his career best in points (26), set over 75 games with the Boston Bruins in 2022-23.

In terms of analytics, it’s worth comparing Grzelcyk with Karlsson vs. Letang.

This season, Karlsson and Pettersson are the only regular Penguins defensive pairing to be in the black on shots on goal (247-226) and expected goals for vs. against (28.82-20.58), while breaking even on goals for vs. against (27-27), per Natural Stat Trick.

Karlsson and Grzelcyk have been outshot 169-162, are in the red in the expected goals department (15.57-11.88) and have allowed 18 goals while scoring 17.

Letang and Grzelcyk compiled a deficit in shots on goal (186-158) and in expected goals (16.63-14.81) and produced nine goals while allowing 16.

Karlsson and Grzelcyk (and Sullivan, for that matter) probably would agree their pairing has been far from flawless. The same could be said of every defensive deployment on a team that’s allowing an NHL-worst 3.59 goals against per game.

But with about a month’s worth of games together, Karlsson and Grzelcyk continue to develop rapport as a pair.

“I think it’s been going well,” Karlsson said. “We’ve been partnered up for a bit, and I think right now, when everybody’s back, it gives us a good balance. Hopefully, we can get things going in general the way we were before the (holiday) break there.

“You get used to the characteristics of each player the more you play with them. Certain things get a lot easier, communication gets easier and reading off each other gets easier. I think we’re comfortable with each other right now, and we know what to expect from each other.”