Mike Sullivan and the Penguins know Jeff Petry is capable of being a high-end defenseman, he just hasn't quite found his footing yet as he continues to adjust to his new environment and becomes more comfortable with the type of game the Penguins are trying to play.
The Penguins made significant changes on their blue line over the offseason that were heavily centered around bringing Petry in, but those changes aren't yet justified by Petry's performance.
In 15 games this season, Petry has three goals and four assists, with two of his goals coming on the power play. With Petry on the ice at 5-on-5, the Penguins have scored 51% of the goals and controlled 53.2% of the expected goals, per Evolving-Hockey. While acceptable, those results aren't really what you'd hope for considering Petry's $6.25 million cap hit, or considering the pieces the Penguins moved out to bring him in.
Petry knows he has more to offer. The biggest thing right now, he said, is finding more consistency.
"I’m still trying to find that consistent game," Petry told me. "There’s times where the whole game I feel good, and then there’s times where there’s a stretch there during a game that things kind of get away, so for me, it’s just trying to find that consistent game, feeling good about my game and building from there."
I followed up on his comment about things getting away from him, and asked for specifics on what he meant. His response indicated that timing is still a bit of a struggle for him right now.
"Whether it’s moving the puck up too quick to a guy that’s not in the right position or holding onto it too long," he said. "Obviously we want to play quick, but there’s times where it might be better to take that extra second to let the play develop in front of you, and then the next guy can make a play, not handcuffing him. It’s just little things like that to just kind of bring my game along."
Afterward, I told Sullivan that Petry feels his game has ebbed and flowed, then asked for his assessment of Petry's play and what he needs to do to put himself on a path to success.
"I would agree with him," Sullivan told me. "I think he’s had some real good games for us, and then he’s had others where he hasn’t been at his best. I just think he needs to take what the game gives him, keep the game simple, shoot the puck. He’s got a dangerous shot from the blue line, as we all have seen. He’s a real good player, and I know with familiarity and the more he’s around our group and gets familiar with how we’re trying to play — My experience has been that usually players go through a bit of an adjustment process when they come to a new team, especially impact players like him that are playing a significant role on the team. I have no doubt he’s going to be an important aspect of this group moving forward, but for me, the biggest thing is just taking what the game gives him out there."
The Penguins will play the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, 7:08 p.m., at PPG Paints Arena. Taylor Haase and I will have your coverage for the game.
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• After missing practice on Monday due to personal reasons, Evgeni Malkin was back on the ice for morning skate on Tuesday. He's good to go.
• Here are the players who took the option to participate in the skate: Malkin, Bryan Rust, Jeff Carter, Kasperi Kapanen, Ryan Poehling, Brock McGinn, Teddy Blueger, Marcus Pettersson, Petry, P.O Joseph, Chad Ruhwedel, Tristan Jarry
• Casey DeSmith will start in goal against the Maple Leafs. It'll be his third start in four games. He is 2-0-0 in his last two starts, stopping 52 of 55 shots against. On the season, he has a 2-3-1 record with a .916 save percentage and 2.67 goals against average.
• Filip Hallander missed Saturday's game in Montreal against the Canadiens due to illness. He did not practice on Monday, either, instead watching from the side of the rink in street clothes. Sullivan said he skated Tuesday morning.
• The entirety of the Penguins' lineup, except for DeSmith, will be a game-time decision, per Sullivan.
• The Penguins will wear their Reverse Retro Robo-Penguin jerseys tonight. It will be the second time the jerseys are worn, and the first time on home ice at PPG Paints Arena.
• Matt Murray will start in goal for the Maple Leafs. He has been out since the first game of the season with an adductor strain. He allowed four goals on 23 shots against before the injury occurred.
This will be Murray's second start against the Penguins since he was traded away several seasons ago, and his first start against the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. He stopped 42 of 43 shots against for the Senators in the Penguins' 2-0 victory in Ottawa on Feb. 10, 2022.