Conor Sheary has far-reaching impact on Penguins
Star power isn鈥檛 a problem for the Penguins.
On any given night Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel can entertain the crowd. They make for an impressive trio, but it doesn鈥檛 end there. When healthy they boast a number of others that could be considered top-five players on any other team in the league.
That鈥檚 the problem though: Health isn鈥檛 something that has been very plentiful, and it has taken a toll.
Rather than lament the injuries that are currently keeping defensemen Kris Letang, Olli Maatta and Trevor Daley and forward Bryan Rust out of the lineup, it seemed like a good time to talk about the impact of a returning player.
Conor Sheary returned to action Friday and helped the team reel off back-to-back victories over Tampa Bay and Buffalo. They rolled up nine goals over that span and he鈥檚 again become a fixture on Crosby鈥檚 wing.
Coach Mike Sullivan has shuffled his lines a bit over the course of those two games, but Sheary has logged plenty of time with the Penguins captain. The chemistry between them wasn鈥檛 immediately recaptured, but it is coming.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e finding it again a little bit,鈥� Sheary said on Sunday. 鈥淚 think the first game maybe here and there we were a little bit off. When you don鈥檛 play together for that long that happens, but I think we鈥檙e finding it again.鈥�
Sheary took no time to get in sync with defenseman Justin Schultz, who has been an indispensable piece of the lineup. The latter found the former for the game-winning goal against the Sabres on Sunday, showing both speed and skill that had been missing for over a month.
Schultz slid down the right wing and thought about taking the shot, but instead saw Sheary burst past Sabres forward Sam Reinhart. He flicked a long-range, cross-ice saucer pass right to where Sheary could bury it behind goaltender Anders Nilsson.
鈥淚 saw him see me and I was definitely screaming for it,鈥� Sheary said of the play. 鈥淗e put it right on my tape.鈥�
Now, it would be foolish to try to make the case that plays like this one haven鈥檛 happened during the games Sheary has missed. You鈥檒l always see those plays with a team like the Penguins, but Sheary makes an already good team so much better.
Sheary, who comes in at 5-foot-8, 175-pounds, is just as important to the Penguins鈥� chances of repeating as any player mentioned above.
It鈥檚 amazing to see how far he鈥檚 come over the past two seasons.
Two years ago he had an impressive debut for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the Calder Cup Playoffs 鈥� he picked up six goals and 11 points in 15 games.
Eyes started to open when he scored 20 goals and 45 points in 58 AHL games during the 2014-15 season, then scored seven goals and 36 points in 30 games last season before a call up to Pittsburgh.
His work over 67 combined regular-season and playoff games 鈥� 11 goals and nine assists 鈥� while playing mostly with Crosby pointed to a guy who was destined to become a good, if not spectacular complimentary piece.
Boy, was that assessment wrong.
The team鈥檚 12-4-4 record without him doesn鈥檛 make it seem like he was missed all that much during his two stints on injured reserve, but the team鈥檚 offense dipped without him. That鈥檚 not a shocking development when you consider that he鈥檚 scored 18 goals and 37 points in 44 games and remained the team鈥檚 sixth leading scorer after missing the month of February.
His two points on Sunday pushed him into fifth, ahead of Patric Hornqvist.
The team has produced more shots and more goals when he鈥檚 been in the lineup.
When he鈥檚 suited up this season, the Penguins average 3.63 goals and 36.9 shots per game. In 20 games without him, the numbers dip to 3.05 goals and 27.7 shots per outing. The latter numbers are manageable, but not enough to win a championship.
Crosby has also been better with Sheary. That isn鈥檛 to say that he isn鈥檛 great all the time, but the Penguins鈥� captain has produced 1.20 points per game while playing with Sheary this season. That dips to 1.06 without his standard winger.
The Penguins are still missing a lot, but Sheary ensures that they鈥檒l have another valuable weapon that gives them a chance to win on a nightly basis.