The Penguins injury situation has forced head coach Mike Sullivan’s hand with personnel decisions up and down the roster.



This is especially true on defense, where the absence of Justin Schultz and Brian Dumoulin has seen Sullivan deploy a sheltered third-pairing of Juuso Riikola with Chad Ruhwedel, a duo he’s been extremely careful with. Understandable, given that Riikola and Ruhwedel are the seventh and eighth defensemen on the roster, respectively. Deployment aside, it’s difficult to complain about the performance they’ve turned in during their short time together.



Rookie John Marino had a brief cup of coffee with Kris Letang on the top defensive pairing but has ultimately settled in alongside Marcus Pettersson on the second unit. This duo has been distributing the puck well, and they keep it moving in the defensive zone. It’s been fun watching the two of them work their way out of trouble.



That brings us to the top defensive...