It had been nearly a month since repeating results for the Penguins until a 5-3 win Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings, their second in a row. Win, shootout loss, regulation loss, win, regulation loss — you get the picture.
Something the Penguins have gotten a lot of in that time frame, though, is scoring from their defense.
As a group, their defensemen have averaged 2.3 points per game over the past nine compared to 1.5 in the first 16 games of the season.
The biggest reason for the uptick in production has been the play of the third pairing of Ian Cole and Justin Schultz, who each are riding three-game point streaks.