Since he was signed following a stellar showing at the IIHF World Championships this spring, the Penguins have made no secret of their affinity for Juuso Riikola. Many in the organization, all the way up to Jim Rutherford, view the Finn as a potential top-four mainstay defenseman.
Well, ready or not, he might be one now.
Justin Schultz will miss four months following successful surgery Sunday morning to repair a fracture of his lower left leg, the team announced Monday. The surgery was performed by the team's physicians, Dr. Dharmesh Vyas and Dr. Alex Kline. Dr. Vyas was on the ice with Schultz when he was hurt Saturday night in Montreal, falling backward after a check by the Canadiens' Tomas Plekanec.
That leaves the Penguins in need of a defenseman who can eat minutes, defend in his own zone, move the puck, work the power-play point and possibly kill penalties.
It's a tall order to fill, but Riikola, new as he is, might best fit that bill.
"He worked his way into the lineup for two games anyway. For a first year player, he did fine in those games," Rutherford told DKPittsburghSports.com Monday. "He came off an extremely good training camp. Of course, you get into the regular season and it's all NHL players and the pace is quicker. There's probably going to be a little adjustment period. But certainly, it appears that he's going to be able to handle it."
After being scratched the first two games, Riikkola has shown an ability to play a well-rounded game since drawing into the lineup. He's averaged 18:31 against the Golden Knights and Canadiens. In Montreal on Saturday, he had two shots and a team-leading five blocks. Though he's 6 feet, 189 pounds, hardly a deal-breaker in today's smaller, faster NHL, he hasn't shied away from physical play, either. His four hits against Vegas were second to only Jack Johnson.
It's the grit to Rikkola's game that has most impressed Kris Letang:
With Rutherford constructing perhaps his deepest defense corps, the loss of Schultz for an extended period -- likely through mid-February -- should hardly be a deal breaker to the Penguins' playoff hopes.
Exactly who will play and with who, won't be known until Tuesday night when the Penguins host the Canucks. During Monday's practice at PPG Paints Arena, only the regular top pair of Letang and Brian Dumoulin remained intact, while the others --- Olli Maatta, Jamie Oleksiak, Chad Ruhwedel, Johnson and Riikola -- worked in a rotation.
"Schultzie's not an easy guy to replace and is a very good player and has been very good for us for a long time," Mike Sullivan said after practice. "It's tough to lose him from that standpoint, but certainly we have to be prepared with the guys we have, and we think we have capable guys."
The most encouraging overall sign for the Penguins' defense to date has to be the rejuvenated play of Letang, who is tied for third in scoring among all NHL defenseman with three goals and three assists.
After a wildly inconsistent 2017-18, the 31-year-old appears to be back on top of his game. The reason, he says, is simple: He's healthy. A year ago, he was coming off a neck surgery that prevented him from getting in a full off-season of workouts. Now, he believes he's put it in the past.
"I'm healthy, I'm not afraid going into games," he said. "It's... I'm past the injury. The injury has been tested. That's where I get my most confidence, and I'm fit."
Rutherford said no one should be surprised by Letang's resurgence.
"You have to understand what he went through," the GM said. "That surgery he went through, most people that go through that take a long time to heal and certainly don't go right back into playing professional sports. That was tough; the fact that he played last year was something. We all know or admit that it was an inconsistent year for him, but he's such a good player and determined to do well."
Perhaps the biggest question mark along the blue line is the other Finn. Maatta had a strong 2017-18 in which he played all 82 games for the first time in his career and set career highs in assists and points, he's been subpar in the early going. He's looked slow and has been caught out of position because of it.
After being a healthy scratch against the Golden Knights, he responded with perhaps his worst performance in Montreal when his possession metric -- a dismal 13.7 Corsi For -- was off-the-charts poor.
However, Rutherford said he is not too worried at this point.
"He needs to be better," he said of Maatta. "This is not the first time that he's gotten off to a slow start. I think in some ways he overthinks the game instead of playing on his raw ability. I'm not concerned about it. It' ll come. We all want it to come sooner than later. I'm sure he feels the same way. He's got to work his way through it."
Assuming that Ruhwedel remains the odd-man out -- he's been a healthy scratch for all four games -- five of the Penguins' starting six defenseman will be left-handed shots, though Johnson, Oleksiak and Riikola can play both sides.
At least publicly, all say they have no preference.
"I just need to know before I head out there whether coach wants me on the right or left," Johnson said. "That's it. Just give me a heads-up and I'll be fine."
Oleksiak, a healthy scratch for the first time in his Penguins career on Saturday night, figures to play again Tuesday against the Canucks. He downplayed having to sit out, saying it was simply the product of having too many good defensemen.
"You can't get frustrated because then you get down on yourself and those negative thoughts permeate in your game," he said. "Just taking it as what it is. There's guys they want to get a look at. We have got a group of eight guys who can step in and they're staying fresh. I don't look into it too much. Some things like this happen. You have to be ready for it. You can't have enough depth."
• As expected, Derek Grant was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, while Tristan Jarry was sent back. The Penguins' active roster is at 22, one shy of the league limit.
• Matt Murray, who has missed the last week with a concussion, said he feels good and is ready to start tomorrow vs. Vancouver. He was cleared before Saturday night's game in Montreal and served as Casey DeSmith's backup.
• Monday's forward lines in practice:
Brassard-Crosby-Guentzel
Hagelin-Malkin-Kessel
Rust-Sheahan-Hornqvist
Simon-Cullen-Sprong/Grant
• The Canucks also practiced at PPG Paints Arena on Monday afternoon. I'll have a separate file on that shortly.