For most of the 2019-20 season, the Penguins have been astoundingly resilient. Amid myriad injuries to superstars and solid role players, the team even managed to (briefly) sit atop the hyper-competitive Metropolitan Division. But the Penguins recently hit a Pittsburgh-sized pot hole in the form of a six-game losing streak, their longest since the 2011-12 season.
It's hardly time to freak out--they have a 90 percent chance of extending their playoff streak to 14 consecutive seasons, according to Moneypuck.com--but some cracks were showing. And their deficiencies were most glaring on the blue line. That's why the returns of Brian Dumoulin and John Marino couldn't have come at a better time.
With Dumoulin (lacerated tendons in his left ankle) and Marino (broken cheekbone) both out of the lineup, Mike Sullivan resorted to using some less-than-optimal defensive pairings. With those two mobile, two-way players missing, one of the game's best defensemen (Kris Letang) was dragged down. And another patched-together duo -- Marcus Pettersson and Justin Schultz -- was getting stretched.
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