P.O. Joseph Likely Losing Spot in Penguins Lineup
With Dmitry Kulikov presumably coming back to the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup, P.O. Joseph might be coming out.
It’s been no secret that P.O. Joseph has been one of the better defensemen on the Pittsburgh Penguins this season.
At 23-years-old, Joseph has displayed tremendous confidence and exponential growth as a Penguins’ blue liner in his first full season in the NHL.
When Ron Hextall decided the team needed for defenders, however, he went out and acquired Dmitry Kulikov from the Anaheim Ducks.
With Kulikov added to the fold, it added an element of competition to the defensive units and subsequently pushed Joseph out of the top-six.
At first glance that was an understandable move; Mike Sullivan wanted to see what he had with Kulikov and Joseph was starting to hit a wall.
Kulikov played four games before being placed on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
In a normal circumstance, this sounds like a great opportunity for Joseph to step back into the lineup and prove he’s the better of the two defensemen and should remain in the lineup down the final stretch.
The only issue is that Joseph hasn’t been the same player in recent games; the speed is still there but the confidence, hockey sense, and overall defensive ability have started to slip.
Some costly turnovers and penalties have cost the Penguins and at this time of year and the position they are in with the standings, the team can’t afford those mistakes.
Joseph has 44 penalty minutes on the season and has had a visible decline in confidence over the last couple of weeks.
It’s still not exactly clear what Kulikov can bring to the lineup, but he might be a better option over Joseph.
Kulikov is a much wider build and adds an element of toughness Joseph just doesn't possess.
This isn’t a call to pull Joseph from the lineup completely, but give him a rest and let Kulikov do some work if he returns from injury in time.
If the Penguins reach the postseason, Joseph has a chance to be one of the most important players on the roster if he's able to find what made him stand out early in the season.
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