Pierre-Olivier Joseph shouldn't ever see Wilkes-Barre/Scranton again.
Joseph, 21, is only four games into his NHL career. But he's easily been one of the Penguins' best defensemen through this early portion of the season.
With Brian Dumoulin joining the ever-growing list of injured Penguins defensemen, Joseph was elevated to the top defense pairing alongside Kris Letang on Thursday. And he was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing 4-1 loss in Boston.
I wrote last week about Joseph's strong debut, where his strong skating was on display, as well as his long reach that comes in handy when trying to force opponents to the perimeters of the ice. Three games later, that's all still true. He hasn't looked out of place in this lineup yet. And on Thursday, playing a season-high 17:02 on the top line, we saw more of what Joseph can bring to the lineup.
He made an impact -- quite literally -- seven minutes into the game when he flattened Jack Studnicka to force him off of the puck:
I've written several times now about how Joseph's slender frame, now 6 feet 2, 185 pounds, can be deceptive. He's gotten much stronger since turning pro last year -- more than doubling his leg strength last year alone, according to Mike Vellucci -- even though that increase in strength might not be reflected on the scale. He's strong on his feet, and that's why he's able to do things like he did in that clip above.
He had another good sequence in the final minute of that period. He held David Krejci to the corner with that long reach and prevented him from making a play. A few seconds later, Krejci positioned himself in the right circle, causing Tristan Jarry to hug the right post and leave the left side of the net wide open. Brad Marchand positioned himself right in front of that open net, in prime position for a redirect, but Joseph effectively tied up Marchand's stick and prevented him from capitalizing when Krejci sent the puck his way:
Another highlight came early in the second period. Letang, while below the left dot in the Bruins' zone, made a pass intended for Bryan Rust that was broken up and led to an odd-man rush with Marchand and the overtime hero from the previous game, Craig Smith, that didn't amount to anything, in part to Joseph's effort:
Moments like those are what Mike Sullivan was likely referring to when I asked him about Joseph stepping into a bigger role in this game.
"We've got to do a better job as a group of five, I think, in defending and helping young players like P.O," he said. "But I think he's doing a good job."
Joseph continues to contribute to the offense, too. He doesn't have a point yet other than the assist he recorded in his debut, but it's not for lack of opportunity. He led all Penguins defensemen in shots in his first two games, with three, then two, respectively. With the Bruins being one of the stronger defensive teams in the league, the Penguins were held to just 17 shots in this game, with no defenseman having more than two. Joseph recorded one. Only one Penguins player even attempted more than three shots -- that was Cody Ceci, the lone goal-scorer, with four attempts -- and Joseph was right behind with three attempts.
He contributes to the offense in other ways, like settling the puck and assisting in the start of a breakout:
"I think P.O is doing a good job," Sullivan said after the game. "We're putting him in tough situations here in the early part of his NHL career, but he embraces every role we put him in. We're really excited about the progress he's made. He's a good player, I think he's embracing this."
With four left-handed defensemen -- Marcus Pettersson, Juuso Riikola, Mike Matheson, and now Dumoulin -- out either week-to-week or longer-term with injuries, Joseph has a clear spot in the lineup for the foreseeable future. And even when (if?) the defense corps gets healthy, Joseph shouldn't be out of the lineup. He's only getting better each game. If that means scratching someone like Matheson and his $4.875 million cap hit in favor of Joseph, then so be it. The six best defensemen are the ones who need to be in the lineup, and Joseph is proving to be one of them.