Penguins Top Defenseman Works In New Role At Practice
Pittsburgh Penguins top defenseman Kris Letang has played in a lot of different roles throughout his career.
The left side hasn't been one of them, at least not in a long time.
During the Penguins' practice on Thursday, the 37-year-old Letang - a right defenseman - was deployed on the left side of Pittsburgh's top pairing alongside fellow righty Conor Timmins, whose solid play has earned him a promotion in the lineup.
There have not been too many times throughout Letang's 19-year career that he has been asked to play the off-side. However, it's something that the Penguins are willing to experiment with, even if it's just something that they try in practice.
“We’re exploring that possibility or the opportunity to play that pair together,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “We think Conor Timmins has played extremely well. So, that was part of the decision-making there.
"Obviously, if we’re going to juggle defense pairs, you know where I stand... we prefer to have the players playing on their strong sides. But, sometimes, there are things that trump that. We thought we would explore it in practice today. It’s not etched in stone but we thought we would try it.”
Timmins, 26, has a goal and four points in five games since joining the Penguins in a deadline deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs that also brought forward Connor Dewar to Pittsburgh. He has been solid on both sides of the puck and plays a simple, risk-averse game, and it has led to him getting a look with Letang, who plays a higher-risk game.
He is looking forward to the opportunity to play with Letang, and he thinks they've read off of each other well so far in a short practice sample.
"I think we're both pretty solid puck-movers and can read off of each other well," Timmins said. "Sometimes, it's nice to have that other righty out there. It gives you some different looks in the offensive zone, so I think it will be good."
Letang has eight goals and 28 points in 63 games this season.
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