It might be the most intriguing matchup of the season.
No, not the Penguins' game with the rival Capitals Saturday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena, nor the one they'll play a day later against Carolina, which is trying to claw its way into an Eastern Conference playoff berth.
Rather, it's the one that will pit Patrick Marleau's ironman streak against the Penguins' wretched luck with injuries this season.
Their 4-2 victory in Buffalo Thursday night marked Marleau's 850th consecutive appearance, extending a streak that is the fifth-longest in NHL history and dates to April 9, 2009. He has played in each of the Penguins' five games since being acquired from San Jose at the trade deadline, which places him squarely in conflict with the Penguins' medical misfortunes in 2019-20: Their total of man-games lost is closing in on 300.
While Marleau's streak speaks to his durability, it should be not construed as evidence he's managed to stay completely healthy for more than a decade.
"There have been some bumps and bruises along the way," he said. "I've played through some things, but I've been pretty fortunate. A shoulder ... minor separations, things like that. Bumps and bruises, for sure. My back kind of seized up or a rib went out or something like that."
The streak appears, quite understandably, to be a point of pride for Marleau, though it definitely is not an obsession.
"I just focus on what I can control," he said. "You can't really control that too much. Maybe looking back, there might have been some times (when he shouldn't have played). I just love being out there, so if it's at all possible to get out there, I'll go out."
For the record, Marleau's recollection is that the last time he missed a game, it had nothing to do with a sprain or a strain or a fracture.
"It might," he said, "have been for one of my kids' birth."
The good news for the Penguins: There's no indication that additional offspring are in Marleau's immediate future.
MORE PENGUINS
• The Penguins added to their total of unrestricted-free-agents-to-be at the NHL trade deadline by acquiring forwards Conor Sheary, Philip Varone, Riley Barber and Marleau, but still have just nine in the entire organization. (The others are defenseman Justin Schultz and minor-league forwards Adam Johnson, Thomas Di Pauli, and Kevin Roy.) However, they have no fewer than 11 players scheduled to qualify for restricted free agency July 1, and even with the salary-cap ceiling set to rise next season -- league officials say it will be between $84 million and $88.2 million, up from $81.5 million in 2019-20 -- it seems like the Penguins will be unable to retain everyone who falls into that category, even though that is their intention at this point. "We'll have to see how we end up here," Jim Rutherford said. "I can say that there's not anybody in that group that we don't like, but we'll have to see what the cap (ceiling) ultimately ends up being. There's still another big test coming here as we go down the stretch and the playoffs to make that final decision." -- Molinari
• Although hockey isn't as statistics-driven as, say, baseball, the introduction of advanced analytics has given people who like to evaluate performance by numbers quite a few from which to choose. An informal sampling of Penguins players, though, turned up no one who pays particular attention to any stat, traditional or otherwise. "If you're only looking at stats, you're not really looking at a true test of how a player is," Brian Dumoulin said. "A lot of times, it's a lazy-man thing to just look at stats and judge players. If you really want to judge a player, you should watch him as much as possible. ... I just really care about wins and losses. That's what I pride my game on. Obviously, if we are winning, then everything is good." -- Molinari
• Jake Guentzel was seen in the PPG Paints Arena press box this week without a sling, which is, of course, encouraging. Any progress is welcome progress. That said, it'd be folly to take it too far. I've been told that Guentzel's shoulder injury was more akin to a "car accident," as one official worded it, than anything sports related. His shoulder crashed hard into the boards and sustained impact damage rather than the stress damage generally associated with competition. As such, the Penguins are being extra cautious when it comes to any kind of prognosis, and rightly so. -- Dejan Kovacevic
STEELERS
• After the Steelers lost their final game of the season in Baltimore, Ramon Foster said he was at peace if the team was going to release him, saying he knew B.J. Finney, Matt Feiler and Zach Banner all were going to be free agents of some type. He could read the writing on the wall. All Foster asked is that if the team was going to release him, it do it sooner rather than later. Sooner is right around the corner. Ironically, Foster is the Steelers' union rep, which means he will be the one who gets the information to all the team's players on the new CBA. And once that CBA is or is not passed, the Steelers' next move will be to release Foster. The two things are not related, more tied into Foster's decline in play and the $4 million in cap savings they will gain from his release. Currently, Cam Heyward is the NFLPA union alternate for the Steelers. It's not known if he would take over Foster's rep duties or if another player might want to take those on. -- Dale Lolley at Rooney Complex
• If the Steelers don't tender Mike Hilton an offer as a restricted free agent, Cam Sutton will move into that role. Don't be surprised if Sutton also is one of the top backups at safety in 2020. He has that kind of versatility. He also can play on the outside. If the Steelers don't acquire a veteran safety in free agency on the cheap, Sutton could be that guy. This is a bad year for safeties in the draft. In fact, more than one draft expert told me last week Fitzpatrick would not only be the top safety in this draft, he would be taken at least a dozen or more picks before the next safety is selected. And it's not a deep group at all, so there won't be a lot of help later in the draft, either. -- Lolley
• One interesting thing I heard recently is it wouldn't be surprising if the Steelers not only have an open competition at right tackle if they shift Matt Feiler to guard, but there also could be competition for Alejandro Villanueva at left tackle. That would come in the shape of Chuks Okorafor. Basically, it would be a three-man competition for two positions, with Okorafor battling Villanueva at left tackle and Zach Banner on the right side. Remember, the Steelers selected Okorafor in the third round of the draft a couple of years ago with the idea he might be a fit as a left tackle. Okorafor had surgery to repair a torn labrum after his rookie season and that can take a year to get back to full strength, which he should be heading into camp this year. They want to get their best guys on the field and there was a feeling Villanueva's play slipped a bit in 2019. What isn't known is if his play slipped because of his own issues or if it was because Foster's play beside him at left guard had fallen off so far. -- Lolley
• In a week that saw an awful lot of discussion about Bud Dupree's status -- mostly about the Steelers' long-known intention of applying the franchise tag if they can't achieve an agreement -- it should be emphasized that Dupree himself would happily take either. He told both Dale and me exactly this in the waning days of the regular season, then again the day after the season ended, and he did so with a broad smile each time. This isn't seen as some contentious issue by Dupree or, by logical extension, anyone in his camp. As such, there's every reason to believe he'll still be here in 2020. -- DK
PIRATES
• Spoke to a front office executive this week, and it looks like the Pirates are going to let Oneil Cruz play shortstop until it becomes clear he cannot handle the position. Cruz certainly has the arm to play short -- or really any position -- but plenty of scouts and prospect gurus believe that once his 6-foot, 7-inch frame fills out, he will need to move to either a corner infield or outfield position. While he hasn't made any highlight-reel plays this spring, he has held his own at shortstop thus far. -- Alex Stumpf in Bradenton, Fla.
• James Marvel has been working on a slider this offseason and has thrown it a couple times already this spring. He was looking for a way to get more whiffs, and found that while his curveball played well against left-handers, righties did not swing and miss as often against it. The idea to add the pitch stemmed from several conversations he had with bullpen coach Justin Meccage at the end of last year. Marvel worked with multiple facilities across the country to figure out how to get more whiffs, including going to the infamous Driveline in Seattle. "I just love having those conversations with people who are smarter about it than I am," Marvel said. "I hope that I can offer something to them in return by talking through it." -- Stumpf
• In the past, minor-leaguers who would play the later innings in Pirates spring training games all wore stir-ups. That was the work of the previous regime to signal who is a major-leaguer and who isn't. Now all players are allowed to wear their pants with either low or high socks. -- Stumpf
• Absolutely not a solitary thing will come from the MLB Players Association filing a grievance against the Pirates over a lack of spending, not the one related to the 2017-18 offseason and not anything from this offseason. Union chief Tony Clark knows that, too. As we discussed a year ago in Bradenton, the union's stance is that teams should be applying revenue-sharing funds toward baseball purposes. But as he acknowledged, it's virtually impossible to define what baseball purposes are, since they can include instruction, development, even construction of baseball facilities. It's all for show, all hollow, even if the union is right. And be very certain no one at the Pirates is remotely concerned about it. All they need to do, as I've long been told, is assure Rob Manfred's office where the money is going, or where it might go before long, such as potential contract extensions for younger players. -- DK
PITT
• Averaging just over nine minutes per game this season for Pitt, Abdoul Karim Coulibaly's slowly been getting acclimated to college basketball. Making matters more difficult, Coulibaly's English was rough when he showed up on campus. Jeff Capel spoke earlier in the year about how teaching Coulibaly defensive assignments and preaching communication carries an inherent challenge. That said, Coulibaly, who hails from the West African nation Mali, has recently done a few interviews and his English has progressed impressively over the course of the year. He listens closely, nods, and rarely needs you to repeat the question. Sometimes, it's obvious he gets a little tongue-tied or may struggle to find the right word, but he gets it. That much is evident. My favorite part of this: After a recent game, we talked to Coulibaly, and after the interview finished, he shook our hands, smiled and asked, "Am I getting better?" He is, but it's that dual layer — first that he's putting in the time to improve and second that he cares about it — that inspires even more confidence in his game moving forward. He seems driven and motivated in all the right ways. With another season, Pitt might have something there. -- Hunter Homistek in Atlanta
• Pitt's been linked to three-star, 6-foot-5 point guard Femi Odukale, who recently took an official visit to Pitt in late February. While nothing is confirmed there, it's clear Capel and company want his services for next year ... despite the fact they're guard-heavy with Xavier Johnson, Trey McGowens and 2020-21-eligible Ithiel Horton in the mix. Does that signal a transfer? More depth? Right now, that's all speculation, but Capel aggressively pursuing a big, physical and versatile point guard certainly indicates that he's not exactly satisfied with the way Johnson's and McGowens' seasons have played out. -- Homistek