Jarry and Zucker Expected to Miss Games 1 and 2
Mike Sullivan said the status of both players is day-to-day
By
Michelle Crechiolo and Grace Heidinger / Pittsburgh Penguins
Game 1 is set for Tuesday while Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday, both at Madison Square Garden.
"We don't expect to have them for the first couple of games, I will say that," the Penguins head coach said following Sunday's practice. "But their status right now is day to day. We'll update you guys as we go."
Pittsburgh's All-Star netminder missed the last six games of the regular season with a lower-body injury. After making 36 saves in a 6-3 win over the Islanders on April 14, Jarry was evaluated and given a status of week-to-week.
Backup Casey DeSmith started five of those contests, earning a 3-2 record, with Louis Domingue getting the nod in the second half of their back-to-back on April 24 at Philadelphia. He made 39 saves in a loss to the Flyers, his second game action of the season after an overtime victory against San Jose back in January.
"We play the same way in front of every goalie, so our confidence is really high in all three of them," defenseman Kris Letang said. "Tristan, Case and Louis, they're all terrific goalies. They're hard workers. Every time they've been in games, they've played really well, and you see their confidence building as they play even more. So pretty happy with all three of them."
Meanwhile, Zucker has had unbelievably bad luck when it comes to injuries this season. He underwent core muscle surgery on Jan. 25 to repair the lower-body injury that had been bothering him since before the holidays. After missing 30 straight games and 35 of 36 total, Zucker returned to the lineup on March 31 in Minnesota - but left in the second period after going into the boards awkwardly.
He missed three more games before coming back on April 9 versus Washington and playing in eight straight before leaving in the first period of their penultimate regular-season contest on April 26 versus Edmonton
"It's awful to see," forward Danton Heinen said. "I mean, Zuck's such a great guy. He's welcomed me so well. He's kind of been a guy that I can go to, so he's been great with me. To see him battling all those injuries this year, it's tough. He's battled back and grinded back and then to see this, it's tough. So I definitely feel for him."
- Attendance and workflow
All expected players were present for their skate at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex following a day off Saturday, including Brian Dumoulin, who headed to the locker room twice during the regular-season finale to get checked out. The Penguins stuck with the same workflow that they used in Friday's 5-3 win over the Islanders:
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
Heinen-Malkin-Rakell
McGinn-Carter-Kapanen
Boyle-Blueger-Rodrigues
(O'Connor)
Dumoulin-Letang
Matheson-Ruhwedel
Pettersson-Marino
(Beaulieu-Friedman)
The Penguins also spent time working on special teams. Here's a look at the power play units:
PP1) Letang, Crosby, Malkin, Guentzel, Rust
PP2) Matheson, Carter, Rakell, Heinen, Rodrigues
The Penguins will practice again Monday morning before traveling to Manhattan.
- O'Connor recalled
Drew O'Connor also took the ice for practice after getting called up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday. He was last in Pittsburgh's lineup on Jan. 15 against the San Jose Sharks. With playoffs just two days away, this call-up has even greater meaning for the 23-year-old.
"It's super exciting. It's an awesome opportunity to be here for the playoffs," he said. "I was here for a bit last year during that, but it's kind of a different feel this year, so super excited to be a part of it."
During the 22 games O'Connor played in Pittsburgh before heading back to the American Hockey League for the remainder of the regular season, he recorded three goals, two assists and five points. In 33 total games with WBS, the 6-foot-3 forward registered 12 goals, 20 assists and 32 points.
"I feel like I got back to 100%. Started feeling really good down there and it was good playing a lot of minutes and getting a lot of different opportunities there," O'Connor said. "So, trying to make the most of it, and the team is doing well there. Got ourselves into a playoff spot there, so it was a lot of fun."
- Welcome back, Todd
Assistant coach Todd Reirden returned to the ice for the first time since undergoing knee surgery just after the All-Star Break. Reirden was welcomed back onto the ice with stick taps from the team just after the whistle blew to start practice.
