The Penguins returned to the ice in Cranberry on Sunday afternoon after losing 7-0 to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. It was a brief practice as the Penguins look to recover ahead of hosting the Minnesota Wild on Monday.
That game offers Pittsburgh a chance to bounce back from a loss that was disheartening to say the least, especially for a defensive unit that conceded seven goals.
“We just got spanked 7-0, so you know, everybody is pretty ashamed. That's one word to put it. You never feel good after that,” Kris Letang said.
The day did feature some positive news on the injury front, as Noel Acciari participated in a full capacity for the first time, while Rickard Rakell skated with his teammates for the second time. Head Coach Mike Sullivan said that the forwards’ progression was promising.
“Real encouraging stuff,” he said. “We'll see how they respond, and then we'll make decisions accordingly from there.”
Acciari has missed the past seven games with a lower-body injury, with the fourth-line forward’s last appearance coming back on Nov. 30 in Tampa Bay.
“It’s good to be back out there with those guys in a regular jersey,” said Acciari, who’s been a big part of Pittsburgh’s penalty kill this season. “I felt good.”
Meanwhile, Rakell last suited up on Nov. 19 against Vegas. The top-six winger has been out for 12 consecutive games and was eligible to come off of long-term injured reserve on Saturday.
“It’s been way too long. It feels like forever,” he said. “Whenever I’m back I’m just going to enjoy the game.”
Both players took part in line rushes, which is a good indication that they’re close to returning. Here’s what the lines looked like on Sunday afternoon:
Guentzel-Crosby-Rakell
Smith-Malkin-Puustinen
O'Connor-Eller-Zohorna
Harkins-Acciari-Carter
(Johnstone-Gruden-Hinostroza)
Pettersson-Letang
Graves-Karlsson
Ludvig-Ruhwedel
(Joseph-Shea)
The coaching staff tweaked their top-four defense pairings for the first time since the start of the season. Marcus Pettersson skated with Letang, while Ryan Graves played with Erik Karlsson. While emphasizing that nothing has been set in stone, Sullivan explained his reasoning for the switch.
“We're not satisfied with where we're at with what we've currently had, and we're looking for options to try to create some change,” he said. “We make decisions throughout the course of the game, depending on how people are playing, and performance matters.”
In addition to that, Chad Ruhwedel - who last played in that game against the Golden Knights and was activated off of injured reserve ahead of the matchup with the Leafs - slotted in on the third pairing for P.O Joseph.
“At the end of the day, we're trying to find solutions here that give us the best chance to win,” Sullivan said. “We just simply haven't been satisfied with where we're at.”
