LaMantia: Role players grease Penguins’ wheels

Penguins coach Michel Therrien has stars across his depth chart.

He has the NHL’s top… Penguins coach Michel Therrien has stars across his depth chart.

He has the NHL’s top scorer in Sidney Crosby; the NHL’s top rookie, Evgeni Malkin; the NHL’s leader in shooting percentage in Jordan Staal; the NHL’s second ranked scoring defenseman, Sergei Gonchar; and a goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, who has totaled 36 wins.

But while these players top the NHL’s statistical columns, there are the other players who nobody talks about – the team’s critical role players, the players whose names aren’t shown on highlight shows, magazines or news stories make the Penguins go.

Without them, the Pens probably wouldn’t be in line for a division title, let alone playoff contention. From the goal out, these players embody the Penguins’ identity as a trapping, mucking and grinding team that wins with character.

Jocelyn Thibault is a 32-year-old veteran goalie acquired for a fourth-round pick in 2005. He was thought to be simply a stop-gate for Fleury until the young goaltender proved he was ready to take the full-time responsibilities.

But Thibault proved to be more than that.

With a mentor-like approach to the game, Thibault, who has a 2.69 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage, is more than just a filler for Fleury.

He could very easily start for another team in the NHL.

But you won’t hear complaints out of Thibault. He is a professional, understanding his role on the team while helping the young Fleury when needed.

Yet Thibault isn’t the only role player exceeding expectations.

Although Mark Eaton has only played in 29 games this season, he by far is the most prolific shot blocker on the team’s roster. He averages nearly three blocked shots per game.

Those are three prevented shots each game. Who knows if those shots become rebounds and, more dangerously, scoring chances? Eaton’s hardworking style made him one of the best off-season signings for new General Manager Ray Shero.

Eaton scored 29 points in 41 games at Notre Dame as a freshman. But he transformed into a more defensive-minded player over his development. That fits the Penguins’ style perfectly.

Much like Eaton, Josef Melichar, the Pens’ third-round pick in 1997, won’t show up on the score sheet very often, but his contribution to the Pens’ defense is certainly solid.

Melichar ranks third in team defensemen plus-minus with a plus four, but his contributions on the penalty kill are unmatched.

He blocks shots and reads plays as well any other Pens’ defensemen, making him one of the top penalty killers on a squad that ranks seventh in penalty killing on home ice.

Another member of that penalty killing squad is Colby Armstrong.

Armstong, who as Crosby’s right wing put up career numbers last season, is a different type of player this season. He contributes where the Penguins thought he would when they drafted him out of Red Deer in 2001.

At just 6-2, 185 pounds, Armstrong takes hits as well as any other Penguin. While his lanky figure doesn’t match up well with other players, Armstrong’s reputation as a hard-nosed hitter who hunts to kill on the fore-check is growing.

Armstrong’s linemate, Max Talbot, is another under-sized overachiever on the Pens’ roster. While showing flashes of offense from time to time, this 175-pound, former eighth-round pick will go toe-to-toe with anyone in the league.

Talbot fights even the toughest of the NHL’s heavyweights.

Darcy Hordichuk, who owns a Web site featuring his fights, Wade Belak and even Keith Tkachuk, who outweighs Talbot by 45 pounds, all tussled with him this season.

But Talbot contributes elsewhere. He is the team’s top face-off man and go-to guy on the penalty kill. He’s also scored 11 goals and 22 points.

Jarkko Ruutu, another off-season signing by Shero, adds a gritty style of play the Pens lacked last season. He is also willing to take a couple hits and cheap shots to put the Pens’ potent power play on the ice.

Ruutu also brings a special touch to the game when Therrien uses him in the shootout. He has some of softest hands and slickest moves of all of the Pens, which surprises teams when he faces them in shootouts.

Ruutu shoots 50 percent on shootout attempts in his career, better than both Crosby and Malkin.

While all of these players don’t have the superstar attributes some of their teammates have, they will help make the Pens a team to fear come playoff time.