Penguins Practice Updates: 02.25.22
By
Michelle Crechiolo and Grace Heidinger @PensInsideScoop / Pittsburgh Penguins
- Matheson out week-to-week
Defenseman Mike Matheson was the only expected player absent from the session, and head coach Mike Sullivan said he will be out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
The Penguins had been incredibly consistent when it came to the personnel on their blue line, as they had been using the same group of six since Nov. 13. We'll see who slots in for Matheson tomorrow when that streak breaks. Today, Mark Friedman - who was just recalled from his two-game conditioning assignment with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League - worked in his spot on the third pairing alongside Chad Ruhwedel during rushes.
As for the forwards, the Penguins switched their second and third lines to start the second period of Thursday's 6-1 loss to New Jersey. The team stuck with those combinations today, while also tweaking the fourth line. Kasper Bjorkqvist was in for Zach Aston-Reese, who skated on an extra D pairing with center Teddy Blueger, who is practicing in a non-contact capacity as he recovers from a fractured jaw. Here is Pittsburgh's workflow…
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
Heinen-Malkin-Kapanen
McGinn-Carter-Rodrigues
Bjorkqvist-Boyle-Simon
Dumoulin-Letang
Pettersson-Marino
Friedman-Ruhwedel
Aston-Reese-Blueger
It's worth noting that Sullivan didn't get into any detail about these changes.
"The way we practiced today has nothing to do with anything," Sullivan said. "We'll make lineup decisions accordingly, and right now, all of those guys are game-time decisions."
- Bjorkqvist staying in the moment
The Penguins recalled Bjorkqvist from WBS on Wednesday for his second stint up here in Pittsburgh, as the 24-year-old forward played in six consecutive games here from Jan. 2-13.
He scored his first NHL goal during his NHL debut in an 8-5 victory against San Jose on Jan. 2 before later joining the team for their season-long six-game road swing out West.
"I've gotten some experience up here, and it helps, for sure," Bjorkqvist said. "You're getting more comfortable with the guys. Especially that trip out West, you're spending a lot of time with a lot of the guys."
When on the ice today, Bjorkqvist said his mindset was about working hard in practice, not necessarily looking ahead to tomorrow's game and whether he's in or out.
"I have some experience now, but like my mindset was in my first stint here, I'm just trying to work hard every day and see where that brings me," Bjorkqvist said.
Playing in both the NHL and AHL this season, the 6-foot-1 forward feels that his roles in WBS and Pittsburgh are similar in terms of the way he plays, especially on the penalty kill.
"I just try to do the right things here and play the same game I play down there, because I think that's what brought me up here," Bjorkqvist said. "Playing in any NHL game, I'm gonna put my best game out there. It's just focusing on myself, bringing my A game and not worrying too much about the opponent. What I've come to realize is that in all the games I've played so far, all the teams are pretty good (laughs)."
- The red-hot Rangers come to town
And the Rangers are reallygood.
With New York's 4-1 win over Washington on Friday, they moved past Pittsburgh into second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers have 71 points (and two games in hand), while the Penguins have 70.
"We obviously haven't seen them this year, but it's a team we're very familiar with," forward Bryan Rust said. "It's a very fast, skilled, up-tempo team. Their goaltending is phenomenal. They have some really good players. I think we got to just try and be to up to the task.
"This is a team that's high in the standings for a reason, and we're fighting with them for positioning. I think this game's gonna be a good test, and we need to be ready for that."
The red-hot Blueshirts come to town having gone 5-0-1 in their past six, while the struggling Penguins have dropped three games in a row after winning four straight coming out of the All-Star break.
It's hard to pinpoint what has led to this current stretch, as the Penguins are well aware of what they need to do in order to have success, as that's evident with where they are in the standings.
"Hockey is a funny game, and it's a long season. And just like in any sport or any aspect of life, things can go great…and then all of a sudden, they go wrong, and you don't really know where that turning point was," Rust said. "But then you got to try and get it back on track. I think that's kind of where we are right now."
Obviously, it starts with their starts, with Rust saying they've got to be a heck of a lot better there. They've allowed the first goal in nine of their past 10 games, and during this three-game slide, they've been outscored 5-0 in the first period.
"It's our job as a staff to try to help our group get on the same page. I always think it starts with a mindset and a certain attitude going into each game," Sullivan said. "It's our job as a coaching staff to instill that mindset and that attitude. That's what we're going to try to do."
