The Penguins have made it through the first quarter of their season with their playoff hopes intact, even if their lineup hasn't been.
The opening quarter of 2019-20 officially will expire at the midpoint of their game against the Islanders tonight at PPG Paints Arena, by which time their man-games lost to injury total will have swollen to 78, since Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Patric Hornqvist and Nick Bjugstad are not scheduled to play.
But despite missing core players like Crosby, Letang and Evgeni Malkin for a combined 21 games (as of this evening), the Penguins take an 11-7-2 record into the Islanders game and sit seventh in the Eastern Conference.
"We've had a fair amount of adversity this year, with some of the injuries we've had to endure," Mike Sullivan said after their game-day skate. "The guys have the right mindset. No one's looking for excuses. ... We believe we have capable guys who have the ability to win hockey games if we play together and play hard."
His players seem to have embraced that attitude.
Defenseman Marcus Pettersson said, "We can't worry about what we don't have," while Dominik Kahun suggested the Penguins' depth has allowed them to win a reasonable share of their games so far.
"Obviously, we don't want those guys -- or anybody -- to be hurt," Kahun said. "When you miss a guy like Sid, or in the beginning (of the season, Malkin), it's very tough, but other guys stepped up. We just have to play as a team, and we're going to be fine."
The best evidence that the Penguins have done that -- and have been committed to executing Sullivan's system most nights -- is that they rank first in the league in both average shots-for (34.8) and shots-against (28).
"We had a couple of games where we got out-chanced and didn't play well," Dominik Simon said. "But overall, we feel really good about our game."
Some other first-quarter stats of note:
• Their penalty-killing ranks second in the league, with a success rate of 89.1 percent.
• The power play has underachieved severely, scoring on just 14.6 percent of its opportunities to place 24th in the NHL.
• The Penguins are scoring an average of 3.3 goals per game, good for 10th in the league, and allowed 2.5, which places them fifth.
• They are scoring 1.3 goals for every one they allow during five-on-five play.
But the Penguins' greatest hope for optimism as the season progresses can't be quantified: It's the consistent effort they've put forth that has allowed them to be in position to take at least one point out of virtually every game.
"We haven't really gotten the results we've wanted," said Pettersson. "But a lot of the games -- most of the games -- we've been playing hard and giving ourselves a chance to win. Every time we've lost, except for one or two, we've been right there."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Hornqvist was a full participant in the Penguins' game-day skate, and while Sullivan confirmed that he won't play tonight, his return to the lineup appears to be looming. "He's getting closer," Sullivan said. "We'll take each day as it comes."
• Islanders forward Derick Brassard, a major bust during his time with the Penguins, has six goals in 17 games this season.
• Letang worked out on the ice before the game-day skate, which Sullivan said is evidence that he is "making progress," although there's no target date for him to resume playing. "He's getting closer ... Obviously, he's not close enough to join the team yet," Sullivan said.
• New York coach Barry Trotz has adhered to a strict goalie rotation this season, so Semyon Varlamov -- who absorbed a 4-3 overtime loss to the Penguins Nov. 7 in Brooklyn -- will get the start. Matt Murray will be in goal for the Penguins.
• Bjugstad will miss his second game because of an unspecified lower-body injury, and apparently won't be back anytime soon. "Nick is going to be longer-term," Sullivan said. "He's continuing to be evaluated."
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