Ironman Down: Can Pittsburgh Penguins Get It Done Without Jordan Staal?

It was the moment when Pittsburgh Penguins fans watching Game One of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Montreal Canadiens held their breath.

At the start of a penalty kill halfway through the second period, Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban picked up his skate to swivel his body at the Pens' blue line and landed on the top of penalty killer Jordan Staal's foot.

The result was a laceration of the extensor halluci longus tendon (yes, I looked it up) that required immediate surgery.

Head Coach Dan Bylsma cleared up multiple rumors when he stated that Staal is considered day-to-day and has not been ruled out for a return.

Either way, the Pens must move on without their third-line center and top penalty killer.

The question on everyone's mind is: Can the Pens do it?

It's truly an interesting situation. There has never been a time in Staal's career where he's been sidelined due to injury.

He's been the ironman of the Pens, playing every single game in his NHL career save one when he was a healthy scratch his rookie year.

That said, the Pens are obviously going to make a few adjustments before Game Two tomorrow afternoon.

I'm certain the top line with Sidney Crosby centering Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz and the second line with Evgeni Malkin centering Max Talbot and Alexei Ponikarovsky will remain.

However, expect Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' center Mark Letestu to find his way into the lineup. Ideally, I would like to see what he could do on the third line centering Pascal Dupuis and Matt Cooke, but he might very well stand post on the fourth line. If that's the case, I expect Craig Adams to move up and take Staal's place.

A relatively small player at 5'11' and 195-pounds, Letestu played ten games with Pittsburgh this season and scored one goal during his visit. He is best known for his two-way play and his wizardry in the faceoff circle.

In fact, his most memorable moment in the NHL was a faceoff win in the waning moments of a game against the Chicago Blackhawks that lead to a game-tying goal.

You also can't overlook that he's right-handed, always helpful, especially on a team with very few right-handed shooters.

I also want to see a change in the fourth line, specifically, a benched Ruslan Fedotenko.

For a player who "turns it up a notch" at the end of the season and in the playoffs, he's been very quiet on the offensive front and hasn't been doing his job.

Hence the reason he's only played three games this playoff season.

However, with the team winning Game One with the score 6-3, there's a good chance Bylsma won't change anything besides Staal's replacement.

As for how the team will fare without Staal, I'm not entirely sure.

One thing I am certain about, is that Malkin is going to have to step up his overall game, the one we saw during last season's Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes.

With the talent the Pens are losing in Staal, Malkin needs to reach the top of his game immediately.

If everyone else sticks with the game plan, everything should be fine. The Pens know how to respond when big game players fall to injury.

Losing Staal is a major blow to the team, but coming into Game Two with a smart and disciplined game will be the best response to this injury.