Here are the 3 biggest takeaways from the Penguins’ Wednesday practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex before the team traveled to Boston.
1. Jarry day-to-day; Tanev and Blueger practice
Goaltender Tristan Jarry was absent after leaving Pittsburgh’s 2-1 win over the New York Islanders following the first period with an upper-body injury.
“Tristan right now is day-to-day,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “He did not skate today.”
If Jarry is unable to go on Thursday against the Bruins, Casey DeSmith is more than ready to step in, as he’s been playing some phenomenal hockey as of late.
“We’re getting a more polished version of Casey this year,” Sullivan said of the 29-year-old netminder, who is back in the NHL after spending last season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. “He’s been really good for us. I just think with each year that he plays, he gains a little bit more experience, he becomes a more mature goaltender. I’m sure he’s learned through the benefit of his experiences.”
Maxime Lagace joined DeSmith at the session after getting recalled on Tuesday. He has split the 2020-21 campaign between the taxi squad and the AHL, and in six games with WBS this season, Lagace has a 3-2-2 record, 1.98 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage.
On a positive note, Brandon Tanev and Teddy Blueger joined team practice for the first time since suffering their respective injuries.
Tanev, who has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury, was a full participant. The winger skated on a line with Frederick Gaudreau and Zach Aston-Reese and worked on the penalty kill, both great signs he’s progressing towards a return.
“He hasn’t been out too long here, and when he is cleared to play and we put him back in the lineup, I think he’s a guy that has to play the game with a certain a certain reckless abandon,” Sullivan said. “That’s what makes him what he is. That’s the value, I think, that he brings to the team – and that’s his competitive advantage. So he’s one of those guys. that when he is cleared to play, we’ll put them in the lineup and we’ll let him do what he does.”
Blueger, who has missed the last eight games with an upper-body injury, skated in a non-contact fashion. The center also skated this morning with the taxi squad, as did Mark Friedman.
Sullivan also said that Evgeni Malkin (lower-body) and Kasperi Kapanen (lower-body)
2. Workflow
Here are the lines and D-pairs that the Penguins used…
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
Zucker-McCann-Rodrigues
Aston-Reese-Gaudreau-Tanev
Lafferty-Jankowski-Angello
Dumoulin-Letang
Matheson-Ceci
Pettersson-Marino
Riikola-Ruhwedel
PP1) Letang, Crosby, Guentzel, Rust, McCann
PP2) Marino, Matheson, Zucker, Rodrigues, Angello
3. Your April Mustache Boy is…
It looks like Mustache Boy is back for good.
Years ago, the Penguins would end their last practice of each month with a shootout, and the loser would then have to rock a mustache until the calendar flipped.
The competition made its triumphant return earlier this month during a skate in New Jersey to lighten the mood, with Bryan Rust earning the honors after failing to score on what he said was about 14 attempts. The team did it again today, with the winger’s reign coming to an end after Brian Dumoulin was the last man standing following a goal from Anthony Angello.
Their teammates skated behind them tapping their sticks and hooting and hollering each time they went. And everybody lost it once Dumoulin was thwarted.
“It’s honestly pretty fun to keep things light,” Angello said before correcting himself. “I mean, it’s fun when you’re not in the final two. Then it gets more anxious than anything. Being in the final two against Dumo today, quite frankly, I was a little bit nervous (laughs).”
It looks like both members of the Penguins’ top pairing will now be sporting ‘staches, as Dumoulin’s partner Kris Letang was rocking one at practice today for reasons unknown.
“I hope it wasn’t because he thought it looked good,” Mike Matheson quipped.