Our long national nightmare is finally over.
For the first time since the Penguins’ fourth game of the 2018-19 season, defenseman Justin Schultz has been activited from injured reserve.
The gruesome leg injury Schultz faced effectively coiled its way around Pittsburgh’s defensive corps, tightened, and forced Mike Sullivan to turn to newcomer Juuso Riikola to take No. 4’s spot for the following fourth mouth (53 games!). It also made decisions difficult on who would ultimately quarterback the second power play unit in a consistent manner, as Schultz’s deployment there as a right-handed player proved to be lucrative.