Three Periods: Penguins pairs have their moments during difficult defensive season

Elite defensive statistics should not be expected of teams that lead the league in goals allowed per game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins owned that unfortunate distinction through 49 contests, giving up 3.59 goals per contest.

To be sure, Penguins goaltenders haven’t showered themselves in glory this season.

Tristan Jarry, at the time of his demotion to the American Hockey League on Jan. 16, had gone 8-8-4 with a 3.31 goals-against average and .888 save percentage.

Alex Nedeljkovic, now splitting time in net with rookie Joel Blomqvist, is 9-7-4 with a 3.21 GAA and .893 save percentage.

But not all of the Penguins’ defensive woes fall on the goalies.

The defensemen’s play has been up and down, as has the team’s overall defensive effort.

Of late, coach Mike Sullivan has stuck with three pairings on defense. While advanced analytics can’t paint a full picture, it’s still worth examining the numbers to see how the three pairings have fared.

1. Letang and Pettersson

Kris Letang and Marcus Pettersson were sidelined in December, and upon emerging from injured reserve, have teamed up to form the Penguins’ top pairing.

Per Natural Stat Trick, the two have been on the ice for 14 goals scored by the Penguins and 11 by their opponents.

While they’ve been outshot 124-105, their healthy plus-3 goal differential is the best among defense pairs currently being utilized by the Penguins.

Looking at high-danger chances (scoring chances from high-percentage areas such as the slot or at the crease), Letang and Pettersson are in the black, having helped generate 54 to opponents’ 42.

2. Grzelcyk and Karlsson

Pettersson’s placement on injured reserve in mid-December forced Sullivan to switch things around, and as a result, the Matt Grzelcyk-Erik Karlsson pairing was born.

Since Dec. 17, those two have been deployed together in all but one of the team’s games, producing a minus-1 (18-17) differential in goals scored vs. allowed.

The two are slightly in the red in shots (169-162), while high-danger opportunities are more slanted in favor of the opposition (71-42).

3. Pickering and Joseph

Rookie Owen Pickering and returnee P.O Joseph, whom Pittsburgh reacquired in December after 23 games played with the St. Louis Blues this season, have formed the third defensive pairing lately, before Pickering was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday.

Notable in their deployment is both players are left-handed shots.

Thus, in every game, one of them has been playing on his off side.

Pickering and Joseph routinely see less ice time than the aforementioned top four.

They have been on the ice for one goal for and one against, while outshooting opponents 37-25.

The two have thus far been superb at limiting opposing high-danger opportunities, surrendering only two while being a part of 21 on the ice.