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Friday, February 5, 2010
It is important, Jordan Staal insisted, that by Sunday night he can have played more consecutive NHL games (technically) than any player to wear a Penguins sweater.
More important to Staal is that general manager Ray Shero plans on keeping him in that sweater for a long time. Shero reiterated earlier this week that he "is certainly not interested in" trading the third of three cornerstone centers.
The Penguins' Jordan Staal is slated to play in his 327th consecutive game (counting playoffs) this weekend at Montreal.
Chaz Palla Tribune-Review
Staal isn't "too worried about it" either. His job is to play, and he has no rival among teammates in that category. Staal is slated to play in his 327th consecutive game (counting playoffs) on Saturday afternoon at Montreal.
"I've been blessed ... fortunate enough to be injury-free," he said, forgetting a recent 30-inch gash to his leg and a cut on nose that altered his breathing patterns. "I've been pretty lucky."
Shero feels similarly.
"I had just come from Nashville, where we had lost to San Jose in the first round of the playoffs, and I remember seeing Jordan's size (6-foot-4) and his puck protection — how hard it would be to handle with these new rules — and I thought, 'Joe Thornton,' because it's very hard to match up with centers with size and skill like that," Shero said.
"We already had Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in our system ... and with the way they and Jordan have developed, we've got a look down the middle that no other team has."
That look helped the Penguins dethrone the Detroit Red Wings as Stanley Cup champions last spring. Head coach Dan Bylsma said Staal, who had two goals and three points in the final five games of that series, was the Penguins' best player in that span. The Penguins won four of those games.
He arguably is the key to a title defense. Mostly that holds true because of his veteran-like defensive instincts, for which Malkin said Staal deserves consideration as "near the top" of Selke Trophy candidates as the league's best defensive forward.
Staal has averaged over three minutes on the penalty kill this season.
His blossoming offensive game prevented him from being dealt at the deadline last season, and Staal has scored 21 goals and 52 points in the past 76 regular-season games.
The cap-strapped Penguins, who are within $700,000 of the NHL's $56.8 million upper salary limit, are committed to $4 million for Staal — but teammates believe that is no steep price for a player who has missed one game in the NHL, and none since Dec. 5, 2006.
"I was part of an iron-man streak (in Vancouver) with Brendan Morrison, and it's a cool thing," left wing Matt Cooke said. "Jordan has done a great job. Maybe it comes from understanding and knowing, with his brothers, what it takes to be a consummate professional."
Staal's older brother, Eric, is a star center with Carolina, and younger brother Marc is an emerging top defenseman for the New York Rangers.
Former center Ron Schock holds the Penguins record at 313 games from 1973-1977, but he appeared in 15 playoff games over that span. Staal, who technically has appeared in 277 consecutive games (excluding 49 playoff contests), would not pass Schock until the 12th game of next season.
Making it to and through a game at Washington on Sunday would "mean a lot," he said.
It would only build on the impressions he has made on teammates such as Malkin, whose left shoulder injury in training camp four years ago paved the way for Staal to earn a roster spot as a rookie.
"He's one of the best defensive players," Malkin said, not appreciating the meaning behind his next words. "He's always there."
Inside the streak
Breaking down center Jordan Staal's pursuit of former Penguins center Ron Schock's franchise-record 328 consecutive games played from Oct. 24, 1973-September 20, 1977:
Category: Staal
Games: 326
Point streak: 7
Multi-point games: 25
Plus-rating games: 97
Winning goals: 12
Multi-goal games: 8
20-plus minutes: 94
Sources: Penguins Media Relations; Pittsburghhockey.net
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