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Injury-riddled Penguins showing no signs of slowing down

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21st December, 2013
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Despite the Pittsburgh Penguins being ravaged by injuries on both offence and their blue line they have continued to win – and win consistently.

Ten of the Pens’ regular starters are missing due to various injuries but that has proved a minor setback. The team will now look to make it seven straight wins against the lowly Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Their defensive stocks have taken the biggest hits with the likes of Kris Letang, Brooks Orpik, Rob Scuderi and Paul Martin all missing chunks of games.

Orpik has missed the last two weeks after he suffered a concussion against the Boston Bruins on December 7 when Bruins left wing Shawn Thornton sucker punched him after he was pushed down to the ice.

Brendan Shanahan and his Department of Player Safety slapped Thornton with a 15-game suspension which Thornton has appealed.

Letang (upper body), Martin (broken tibia) and Scuderi (broken ankle) round out the injured defencemen, and the hope is to have Orpik and Letang back on the ice by Christmas.

Injuries to other players on the Pens roster include All-Star centre Evgeni Malkin – who is listed as suffering from a ‘lower body’ injury – has missed the past three games and will miss the game against the Flames.

Alternate goaltender Tomas Vokoun has missed the entirety of this season so far with a blood clot related illness and his return is indefinite, which has placed increased pressure on number one goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, currently leading the league in wins on 20.

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Forward Jayson Megna (lower body), Beau Bennett (wrist), Tanner Glass (hand) and Andrew Ebbett (ankle) round out the top 10 injured body count.

Suspensions have also crept into the team as Brendan Shanahan and his department are cracking down ferociously on head high contact and illegal hits.

Left wing James Neal finished serving a five-game suspension for kneeing Bruins forward Brad Marchand and was back with the team on Wednesday night in their 5-2 win against the Minnesota Wild.

Defenceman Deryk Engelland was given a five-game enforced break by the league after the Red Wings game on Saturday for his hit on Justin Abdelkader and will be eligible to return on December 27 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

With their blue line having been severely reduced, the only recognised faces on the defensive line are Matt Niskanen and Craig Adams.

‘‘It’s a pretty unique situation,’’ Niskanen said to the Boston Globe. ‘‘One rookie and five young guys playing. These guys have been coming up and playing with confidence and doing a good job.”

After delving into the AHL affiliate reserves for more troops, they have been required to give more ice time to second tier players.

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Nineteen-year-old rookie defenceman Olli Maata has provided much needed stability and scoring, putting up two goals and two assists in four games. He’s helping keep the ship afloat whilst allowing the other injured defencemen time to heal.

Luckily for the Penguins their star Sidney Crosby has remained healthy this year after dealing with various injuries the last three seasons and is having another stellar season leading the league in points with 51 from 37 games.

Even Crosby thinks that what the Penguins are dealing with has thrown them slightly off guard.

“It’s not easy,” Crosby said after the team’s Wednesday morning skate. “To be missing the amount of guys we are is not common. I think the guys who have come in have done a great job and we have to just continue to do the same thing.”

What is the most amazing – and also the most mind boggling – is the fact that with all the injuries and suspensions, the Penguins have won 11 out of their past 12 games.

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And with those wins against the odds they are leading the Metropolitan division by double digits over the Washington Capitals and sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, five points clear of Boston.

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