The Pittsburgh Penguins’ decision to weld Kris Letang with Marcus Pettersson on a defensive pairing in recent weeks wasn’t necessarily rooted in a sense of familiarity between the two long-time teammates.

Marcus Pettersson landing on injured reserve forced the Pittsburgh Penguins to do some tinkering on the blue line. Pettersson had been Erik Karlsson’s defensive partner since Karlsson debuted with the Penguins last season.

Even though the Penguins are currently seven points out of a wild card spot, they're a hot streak away from getting themselves right back in the playoff race. And losing Grzelcyk may be pretty detrimental to their power play, which is one of the only things giving the season any hope at this point.