Justin Schultz’s defensive work received mixed reviews during his three-plus seasons in Edmonton.
Some critics regarded him as utterly clueless and helpless in his own zone. A cause so hopeless than St. Jude would have simply shrugged and shook his head.
The rest weren’t nearly as charitable.
But Schultz changed more than just teams when the Penguins sent a third-round draft choice to the Oilers for him Feb. 27; he began to develop his defensive game, and continued until it has become something a lot of people in Alberta might not recognize.
Over 42 regular-season appearances – and 15 more in the playoffs – Justin has become a guy who is downright responsible in his team’s end.
Effective, too.
While he probably isn’t going to be mistaken for, say, Rod Langway anytime soon, Schultz no longer is a liability anytime he strays inside of his own blue line.
“He deserves a lot of credit for the effort, the commitment level he’s shown,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Friday.
Schultz and Ian Cole form a defense pairing that is No. 3 on the Penguins’ depth chart, but which has been the team’s most consistent and reliable tandem this season.
Plus-minus is a statistic whose merits and value are open to debate, but it’s worth noting that Schultz enters the Penguins’ game against Detroit tonight at 7:08 at PPG Paints Arena with a team-best plus-10.
He never was better than minus-17 with the Oilers.
Then again, Schultz didn’t often make game-saving defensive plays in Edmonton, as he did during the Penguins’ 6-2 victory against Dallas Thursday.
With 9:20 left in the third period and the Penguins defending a 3-2 lead, Antoine Roussel, the Stars’ rugged left winger, was poised to corral a loose puck near the left side of the crease, and possibly toss it past Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
Before he could, however, Schultz threw a shoulder into Roussel, then dropped to the ice to prevent Roussel from getting his stick on the puck before it could be cleared out of danger.
“Just desperation, and trying to keep it out of our net any way possible,” Schultz said. “It worked that time.”
Whether Schultz would have made such an inspired effort a year ago is hard to say. There’s very little question, however, about whether it would have worked out as well then.
“I probably would have tried,” Schultz said, smiling. “They might have scored, though.”
Sullivan said assistant coaches Jacques Martin and Rick Tocchet and defenseman coach Sergei Gonchar have invested considerable time in Schultz’s development, on the ice and in video study, but that Schultz is the individual most responsible for the upgrade in his game.
His play away from the puck and positioning in the defensive zone are markedly better, and he has become far more effective at using his stick defensively.
He still gets pretty good use out of it at the other end of the rink, too.
Schultz’s mobility and puck skills inspired a bidding war for his services when he left Wisconsin in 2012 – “His offensive instincts are very evident,” Sullivan said – and elevating his defensive play doesn’t appear to be hurting his point production much.
Schultz has one goal and seven assists in 24 games. That projects to 27 points over a full season, which is a bit off his career-high of 33 set in 2013-14.
“I feel like I’ve been getting chances,” he said. “I feel pretty confident with the puck right now.
“The chances are going to come. It’s just a matter of taking care of your own end, getting the puck back and then you can go on to the fun part of the game.”
Dave Molinari: Dmolinari@Post-Gazette.com and Twitter @MolinariPG
First Published: December 3, 2016, 5:29 a.m.
