How much do the Pens miss Letang?

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Prior to losing Crosby, the Pens had a ridiculous 6-1 record in the post season against Columbus and Washington, who were collectively 62 games above .500 and lost a combined 43 games in regulation. During those 7 games, they scored 30 goals and allowed only 17 (4.3 GF/G and 2.4 GA/G).

Yes, it's a small sample size, but the eye test agrees - the Pens had been playing some of their best hockey of the year. That kind of domination against the president's trophy winner and the 4th team in the league is fairly ridiculous.

But what about Letang? He's universally hailed as the team's best defenseman, but do they really miss him? I've always viewed him as a high risk, flashy defenseman that tends to do more harm than good when he's not on his game. The Pens' play without him further solidifies my thinking, but wanted to see what others think.

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[Scotty Pucks]

In terms of puck possession, eating minutes and the occasional flashy assist/goal (GWG in Game 6 of the Cup Final last year), he's extremely valuable.

When he's a potato, which can be the case at times, he's a liability.

Overall, his good outweighs his bad and Penguins fans will surely include his absence in their list of excuses when their team is eliminated.

 

[Blades of Steel]

Enough where there will be an asterisk beside the eventual cup winners name

 

[Addison Rae]

Kris Letang eats up hard minutes, drives possession and is a fantastic PPQB.

He's the perfect modern day #1 dman. In my opinion he was the best Penguin in the playoffs last year and should have won the Conn Smythe.

Your sample size is way to small to make conclusions, Pittsburgh was suppose to beat Columbus without Letang fwiw.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Kris Letang eats up hard minutes, drives possession and is a fantastic PPQB.

He's the perfect modern day #1 dman. In my opinion he was the best Penguin in the playoffs last year and should have won the Conn Smythe.

Your sample size is way to small to make conclusions, Pittsburgh was suppose to beat Columbus without Letang fwiw.

When Letang is in, you really see the Penguins transition game humming along the way it should be, without him it really isn't the same at all even with Schultz there, Schultz is good support to get offense out of the blueline, but Letang is the #1 and there's no one that does what he can on the Pens.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Kris Letang eats up hard minutes, drives possession and is a fantastic PPQB.

He's the perfect modern day #1 dman. In my opinion he was the best Penguin in the playoffs last year and should have won the Conn Smythe.

Your sample size is way to small to make conclusions, Pittsburgh was suppose to beat Columbus without Letang fwiw.

I agree he's super important, but disagree with the bold. Schultz is a better PPQB than Letang. Letang isn't good at sending passes for one-timers at all, and his shot from a stand still isn't good. He is good on the PP when someone else is playing the QB role though. But since adding Kessel, that spot is kind of gone. Letang's biggest strength is his skating, and he can't do much with that as the PPQB.

As for the OP's question, the Penguins miss him a whole lot. I've said for years that he's more important than the 2nd of Sid and Geno. When one of those two is out, Pens have the other to help fill the role. It's a huge loss, but it doesn't create a complete hole in their line-up as they still have a #1C. Without Letang, they simply don't have a top D pair.

 

[Iceman]

Well, among the contenders Pittsburgh generally has the biggest gap between their #1 and "#2" so the answer is yes for sure. Can they win the cup without him? Maybe.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

In terms of puck possession, eating minutes and the occasional flashy assist/goal (GWG in Game 6 of the Cup Final last year), he's extremely valuable.

When he's a potato, which can be the case at times, he's a liability.

Overall, his good outweighs his bad and Penguins fans will surely include his absence in their list of excuses when their team is eliminated.

This made me actually laugh out loud. Never heard someone describe a hockey player as a potato before. What, exactly, does that mean?

 

[llamateizer]

they lost Letang before TDL ... so they had the time to try to replace him.
so not much

 

[Fugazy]

They would be a more complete team with him, but certainly can win a cup even without him.

 

[Hockeyholic]

When he's " ON" he's one of the best D in the game. Nonetheless, very injury prone and has never truly fulfilled his potential.

 

[Shwag33]

they lost Letang before TDL ... so they had the time to try to replace him.
so not much

Who can you replace letang with? Shattenkirk, who until a screened PP wrist shot last game was maybe the Caps worst defensemen.

 

[The Macho King]

More now than they did before last game, that's for sure.

 

[Peat]

I think a lot of us more or less gave up on Repeating once Letang was confirmed to be out. Events after that might have changed our mind... but only briefly

 

[BruinsNeedaRussian]

Always thought his defensive talent was overated, but he has one of the best rist shots from the point I've ever seen. Could be the difference maker in an OT game.

 

[John Price]

They don't need him to win. Never understood how his injury announcement was treated as a game changer.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

They don't need him to win. Never understood how his injury announcement was treated as a game changer.

Because he's a game-breaking #1 and the Pens record historically without him had been atrocious.

Letang is huge. The fact the Penguins are well-coached for once does little to make up for missing the only true first pairing caliber defenseman on the roster.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

His absence does show.

I don't think the Pens have been nearly as good as they were last year and missing Letang plays a big part in that, but they have better scoring potential with this team (Malkin being 100%, Guentzel brings a whole new element, Schultz going from a guy who was trying to keep his career alive to a 50 point d-man).

As a result we've seen the Pens quite a lot on their toes this post-season, but they've still been able to outscore their opponents.

Which makes the loss of Crosby even more alarming. If you lose that scoring advantage, not too many good things are left. Fleury has to stand on his head even more going forward.

The Pens could've been an absolute powerhouse without all these key injuries.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

He's a force. He can be the best player on the ice even with Crosby , Malkin. He's missed. He is an important piece.

 

[Novak Djokovic]

Even though PIT was 6-1, anyone who was watching the game could tell how much their transition and possession game was suffering. The guy was the second best player for the Pens in the SCF after Crosby. Huge absence. Can they win without him? Maybe, but that doesn't negate how big of a loss it is.

No team is the same after losing their #1 D.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

they lost Letang before TDL ... so they had the time to try to replace him.
so not much

Both the Pens & Letang expected him to play in the playoffs at the deadline (his set-back leading to surgery happened a month ago, not 2+)...even still, what an incredibly stupid concept that is. Even if the Pens went out and paid out the bone to get a ****ing rental in Shattenkirk...Shattenkirk has been putrid in these playoffs aside from that OT goal.

Hainsey = Letang is one hell of an awful hot take.

Even though PIT was 6-1, anyone who was watching the game could tell how much their transition and possession game was suffering. The guy was the second best player for the Pens in the SCF after Crosby. Huge absence. Can they win without him? Maybe, but that doesn't negate how big of a loss it is.

No team is the same after losing their #1 D.

100% this.

 

[HockeyThoughts]

Even though PIT was 6-1, anyone who was watching the game could tell how much their transition and possession game was suffering. The guy was the second best player for the Pens in the SCF after Crosby. Huge absence. Can they win without him? Maybe, but that doesn't negate how big of a loss it is.

No team is the same after losing their #1 D.

Came to post this.

 

[Kristopher Letang]

Alot, Letang is underrated.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

A lot since it gimps the pens transition game. Pens would be the overwhelming favorite with a full lineup.

 

[MartinS82]

Always thought his defensive talent was overated, but he has one of the best rist shots from the point I've ever seen. Could be the difference maker in an OT game.

Wait...were talking about Kris Letang. He's number 58. His defense may be the most underrated aspect of his game. And having watched almost every single game he has played, not sure I've seen more than a handful of wristshots from him ever. His point shots in general are WAY below average for a #1 PPQB.

To address the OP they miss him a ton. While the results of the games have been good, the actual game play hasn't been in the Pens favor at all. Their transition game suffers without his skating and so does their cylcle board play. His in the tier with Karlsson and Burns where he can push the play up ice and lead the rush then be right back on defense and turn the 2 on 1 into a 2 on 2. Scotty Pucks is right, that sometimes he does an occassion boneheaded play, but those are far less frequent in the playoffs.