Pittsburgh Penguins: Injuries Have Only Made the Team Stronger

While the last few months have been one unpleasant surprise after another for Penguins fans, it has shown just how strong the team is even without its star players.

It seems that almost weekly, the Pens have released a statement saying another one of the players has been hurt and will be out for an indefinite amount of time—or in the worst-case scenario, out for the rest of the year.

When one player comes back, it seems that another one gets hurt a game later, forcing the injured list to stay at a high number that includes multiple “big” players.

But with the stars of the Pens out with the injury bug, the smaller players—including Wilkes-Barre call-ups—have made their presence known on the team. There are currently eight players on the injured reserve list, including Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (who is out for the season). 

But even with their two big stars out, the Pens have won 11 of their 23 games since Crosby was put on the IR list with a concussion—not too bad for a team that many say is only good because of Crosby and Malkin.

Discounting players that are injured or have just returned from injury, the stats of the Penguins players don’t look so bad.

There are currently three uninjured players with over 30 points and five with 20 to 30 points (including new players acquired last week).

Only three players have no points, and they have played seven or fewer games this season.

So while the injuries this season have been a downer for Pens fans, it may have been the best thing to happen to the team.

Not only have new stars stepped up to keep the team competitive, the often overshadowed players have also found themselves in the spotlight and in a position where they know that even with big players out, they can win games.

The Penguins are also securely in a playoff spot with around 20 games left to play.

While the playoffs will be hard if there are still a multitude of injured players, in the best-case scenario, all the players will come back healthy and refreshed.

There is still a month and a half left in the regular season, and while it may be too late to steal the Atlantic Division title from the Flyers, it is enough time for the underrated players to gain more confidence before the playoffs and for injured players to come back healthy.

Each new injury report may darken Pens fans' days, but the last couple months have shown the Penguins are a strong team with or without all their players—and that makes the future look promising for many years to come.