Weird But True: Ryan Shea has been incredible recently

We all laughed the first game we all saw Ryan Shea on the top defensive pairing. But, in his defense (no pun intended), he's done a great job playing in an extended role - especially defensively.

Shea's first game getting an extended look was two Sundays ago against the New York Rangers where he scored two goals to bring the Penguins back into the game. If you took Ryan Shea 2 goals for 10 cents at +1,500,000,000, I would like just a morsel of your winnings.

The Tell-Tale Ryan Shea Stat

Here's the stat that I want to hone in on, though. Shea's +/- in the last six games is +2. Plus/Minus is many people's least favorite hockey stat, but as with any stat, if you read it in context, it speaks volumes.

The Penguins have been outscored 29-17 in their last six games since Shea began receiving extended minutes. He has two goals and an assist in that time, so three of the 17 goals are accounted for by him.

To give up 29 goals as a team, have a -12 rating as a team, be logging over 20 minutes a game as a defenseman, and you to have a positive plus/minus is indicative of excellent defensive play. If the opposing team scores (and they score often), Shea has not been the reason why.

Shea didn't have any blocks in the loss to Colorado last night, but he blocked five shots against Toronto and averaged over a block per game in the previous four.

Despite no blocks last night, Shea singlehandedly shut down Nathan MacKinnon who was barreling down at full speed, stopping what was sure to be a goal when the game was tight. He's done that several times in the last week.

His defensive effort is incredibly noticeable, and perhaps that's because defensive efforts are poor across the board with the Penguins, but Shea has been a ray of sunshine on the blue line recently.

The SportsNet broadcast talked a lot about confidence with him last night. It seems after his two goal game, he's finally started to come into his own at the NHL level. And when you play free and confidently, you often play well.

What to do with Shea?

Ryan Shea is signed to a one year, $775K contract currently. If Mike Sullivan continues to throw Shea out on the top defensive pairing the rest of the season and he plays well, I would love to see him back.

Defense and goaltending continue to be the biggest problems for Pittsburgh. If Shea can calm down the defense - even if he does go back to middle six or bottom six minutes next year - I'd like to see him in back black and gold.