Whenever Mike Sullivan has been asked to assess Matt Grzelcyk's play this season, he's leaned into the positives -- Grzelcyk's ability to distribute the puck and his influence on the power play, two things he's genuinely been very good at this season. Where Grzelcyk has been lacking has been in his defensive play, obviously. So, I asked Sullivan after the skate what his thoughts have been on Grzelcyk's season defensively.
"I think it's been a little bit of an up and down game," Sullivan said. "I think lately, he's been a lot better when he's playing on his toes and he's anticipating plays and he's using his quickness and his stick and his brain. I think that's when he's at his best. You know, he's not going to go in and out-muscle guys that are bigger than he is, but he's very good with his stick. He's very good with his quickness and he's smart. He can win pucks with those attributes that he has. That's his competitive advantage. And so we're trying to encourage him to anticipate plays, play on his toes, use his stick, use his brain, use his stick skills to win puck battles and help us get out of our end. And I think he's done a nice better job as of late."
The Penguins as a whole have been better as of late, too, but Grzelcyk has started to see slightly better results, especially after being moved from the third pairing alongside Ryan Graves.
Grzelcyk was supposed to be scratched on Nov. 27 against the Canucks, but ended up having to play that night when Owen Pickering fell ill, and has been in the lineup since. Using that Canucks game as a divider, here's how Grzelcyk's defensive numbers have changed, using per-60 five-on-five rates and where he ranks among the Penguins' defensemen:
Unblocked shot attempts against Before: 47.78 (worst on team) After: 46.34 (worst)
High-danger shot attempts against Before: 15.36 (worst) After: 13.8 (worst)
Shots on goal against Before: 34.13 (second-worst) After: 30.56 (third-worst)
Goals against Before: 3.41 (third-worst) After 2.46 (best)
So, the actual chances against have improved slightly, but are still on the lower-end for the Penguins' defensemen. But those chances have proved to be less costly. He went from being on the ice for some of the most goals against to the fewest. And again, those are rate stats, so his decreased ice time isn't the reason for the drop. It's progress.
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
6:03 pm - 12.14.2024OttawaSullivan: Grzelcyk's defense 'up and down'
Whenever Mike Sullivan has been asked to assess Matt Grzelcyk's play this season, he's leaned into the positives -- Grzelcyk's ability to distribute the puck and his influence on the power play, two things he's genuinely been very good at this season. Where Grzelcyk has been lacking has been in his defensive play, obviously. So, I asked Sullivan after the skate what his thoughts have been on Grzelcyk's season defensively.
"I think it's been a little bit of an up and down game," Sullivan said. "I think lately, he's been a lot better when he's playing on his toes and he's anticipating plays and he's using his quickness and his stick and his brain. I think that's when he's at his best. You know, he's not going to go in and out-muscle guys that are bigger than he is, but he's very good with his stick. He's very good with his quickness and he's smart. He can win pucks with those attributes that he has. That's his competitive advantage. And so we're trying to encourage him to anticipate plays, play on his toes, use his stick, use his brain, use his stick skills to win puck battles and help us get out of our end. And I think he's done a nice better job as of late."
The Penguins as a whole have been better as of late, too, but Grzelcyk has started to see slightly better results, especially after being moved from the third pairing alongside Ryan Graves.
Grzelcyk was supposed to be scratched on Nov. 27 against the Canucks, but ended up having to play that night when Owen Pickering fell ill, and has been in the lineup since. Using that Canucks game as a divider, here's how Grzelcyk's defensive numbers have changed, using per-60 five-on-five rates and where he ranks among the Penguins' defensemen:
Unblocked shot attempts against
Before: 47.78 (worst on team)
After: 46.34 (worst)
High-danger shot attempts against
Before: 15.36 (worst)
After: 13.8 (worst)
Shots on goal against
Before: 34.13 (second-worst)
After: 30.56 (third-worst)
Goals against
Before: 3.41 (third-worst)
After 2.46 (best)
So, the actual chances against have improved slightly, but are still on the lower-end for the Penguins' defensemen. But those chances have proved to be less costly. He went from being on the ice for some of the most goals against to the fewest. And again, those are rate stats, so his decreased ice time isn't the reason for the drop. It's progress.
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