DENVER -- The most important thing the Penguins can do during the final four weeks of the regular season involves a variable over which they have little control.
Stay healthy.
Trouble is, they can't do anything to prevent pucks from being deflected into cheekbones. Or skates from hitting a rut in the ice, sending the unfortunate soul wearing them hurtling. Or a shoulder from being separated when a player is checked hard into the boards. Or, for that matter, any of the other hazards inherent in playing a game in which competitors operate at high speed, occasionally with malice aforethought.
The Penguins, who already have lost 249 man-games to injury and illness with 12 games remaining in the regular season,, are keenly aware of all that.
They also understand how much more solid and stable their lineup would be if injured wingers Jason Zucker and Brock McGinn were available.
But while they must adapt to whatever twists and curves confront them when players are sidelined by health issues, Mike Sullivan and his staff will have a big say in what the Penguins try to accomplish during the balance of their schedule, beginning with a visit from the Avalanche Tuesday.
Sullivan has not divulged his plans, of course, but here are a half-dozen unsolicited suggestions about what the Penguins should do between now and Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
1. Don't prioritize finishing second in the Metropolitan Division.
There's nothing wrong with having home-ice advantage, of course, but history makes it clear that starting a series in your building -- and having the seventh game there -- guarantees nothing.
For example, the Penguins have won just three of their past 11 playoff games at PPG Paints Arena; even more starkly, they are 4-6 in Games 7 played at home, but are 6-0 on the road.
They don't want to slide below Washington and into fourth place in the Metro, likely setting up a first-round series with Florida or Carolina, but not having home ice in a best-of-seven with the Rangers wouldn't doom them.
2. Settle on linemates for Evgeni Malkin.
Zucker and Rickard Rakell showed promise alongside Malkin last Thursday in Minnesota before Zucker was injured, and if that combination would prove to be productive, positive ripple effects would be felt throughout the lineup. For example, Jeff Carter could stay at center on the third line, where he and Kasperi Kapanen has shown some real synergy.
Heinen could be deployed with those two, which might help to get his game back in synch, and when McGinn comes back, he could be slotted in with Teddy Blueger and Brian Boyle or Heinen (depending on what role the coaches would want that unit to fill against a particular opponent).
All of that becomes possible if the makeup of the No. 2 line is settled.
3. Get Bryan Rust off the penalty-kill.
It's not a question of being effective; Rust handles the job quite well, actually, as he does with every other duty he's been given.
But killing penalties is particularly hazardous, and if Rust would be sidelined by a broken foot or hand when he blocked a shot (check with Jake Guentzel about whether such a thing is possible), that impact on the lineup could border on catastrophic, likely necessitating changes on every line.
Perhaps the Penguins will get away with using him when they're shorthanded, but if they don't, it could sabotage their entire season. That's an awfully big gamble to take.
4. Give Casey DeSmith some meaningful playing time.
Make no mistake, if the Penguins are to be a force in this spring's playoffs, they will need Tristan Jarry to be at -- or very close to -- the top of his game. Good luck finding anyone outside of DeSmith's agent or immediate family who believes he could lead a team to a championship at this level.
However, if Jarry would get an injury that would compel him to sit out a few games, DeSmith conceivably could plug the hole while Jarry recovers. Nonetheless, it's only reasonable to expect him to do that if he's gotten some work against quality opponents during the stretch drive.
And giving Jarry some nights off in April to conserve energy for the demands and challenges ahead isn't a bad idea, either.
5. Don't be afraid to scratch regulars guilty of poor decision-making or execution.
The temptation to stick with guys who have proven they can perform at a high level -- and do it in pressure situations -- must be great, but there are times when a player benefits from spending a night or two in the press box.
Maybe it would be good because of the obvious punitive overtones, or perhaps because the player would benefit simply from having a different perspective.
Losing his spot in the lineup certainly gave Kapanen a jolt a few weeks ago, and giving guys who might start the playoffs in street clothes but will go on active duty when there are injuries a chance to get some ice time at this level wouldn't be the worst thing.
6. Cut back on the ice time for key veterans.
Kris Letang is the Penguins' runaway leader in average ice time, at 25:43 per game. Sidney Crosby checks in at just under 20 minutes per game, and Malkin logs about 18 1/2.
All three are difference-makers who can play at a world-class level, but they're also in their mid-30s. And no matter how well-conditioned and competitive an athlete is, there does come a time when age matters.
None of them should be held out of the lineup unless he requests it -- and the chances of that are a bit less than zero -- but trimming their minutes a bit over the final dozen games could conserve energy that would prove to be invaluable during the unforgiving grind that is the Stanley Cup playoffs.