As the Penguins head into the final 30 games of the regular season and toward the playoffs, one of their chief concerns will be making sure they get to the postseason in peak physical shape.
And, based on the way the season has played out so far, nowhere is that more important than on the blue line.
When the Penguins have played with all of its “top-six” defensemen Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Olli Maatta, Trevor Daley, Ian Cole and Justin Schultz this season, they’re 18-6-4. They had won 10 games in a row with those six in the lineup until a shootout loss Tuesday against Calgary.