"Wild GM Bill Guerin] just said, 'it's not a bad thing,' and for a guy like Billy Guerin to say, 'I went down,' so it's not a bad thing as long as you use it in the right regard," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "He played real good for us obviously, it is just numbers right now.
"He's going to get his chance. He's going to be a Minnesota Wild player in the near future."
Matt Dumba did not practice with the team before it left the Twin Cities on Friday afternoon, but Evason said his absence was simply precautionary and said he expects Dumba to be in the lineup against the Penguins.
"Just maintenance," Evason said. "Everybody is dealing with something. [Wild athletic trainer] John Worley just said it'd be best if he took the day, so that's the only reason. He skated [Thursday], he'll be fine [on Saturday]."
While the Wild is expected to play the same group of forwards that played against the Sens, it could see reinforcements on Sunday when it hosts the Islanders. Mats Zuccarello and Rem Pitlick, who have been on the COVID-19 list for the past week, are not on the trip but were expected to be cleared to return later in the day on Friday.
They will skate in the Twin Cities on Saturday and again on Sunday morning, and depending how they look, Evason said they could be available as soon as Sunday night.
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Despite missing the past three games, Zuccarello remains just one point back of the team lead in that category, while Pitlick looked good in his Wild debut last week in Vancouver before he was placed in protocol.
Pittsburgh will be without a couple of key players versus the Wild, as Sidney Crosby was placed in COVID-19 protocol earlier this week and will not play. Defenseman Brian Domoulin was also added to the list and won't play.
In addition to those two, Chad Ruhwedel and Marcus Pettersson are also dealing with COVID issues, as is head coach Mike Sullivan, who was not behind the bench for the Penguins' last game Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Assistant coach Todd Reirden served as the club's head coach in his absence.
Forward Bryan Rust has played in just two games this season (lower body) but could be on the verge of a return. Evgeni Malkin, who has yet to play this season because of offseason knee surgery, will miss several more weeks before making his season debut.
The Penguins did get some reinforcements back in its lineup ahead of its game Thursday when defenseman Kris Letang returned from COVID protocol. Letang made an immediate impact, scoring the winning goal in overtime in a 4-3 Penguins victory.
Saturday's contest marks the eighth and final one of a season-long eight-game homestand for the Penguins, who are 3-3-1 through the first seven. Pittsburgh has won six of the past seven matchups against Minnesota at PPG Paints Arena and five-straight against the Wild overall.
The game Saturday marks the first for former Wild forward Jason Zucker against his former team. Zucker, who scored 132 goals and 243 points in 456 games as a member of the Wild from 2012-2020, was traded to Pittsburgh in February of 2020 for Addison and a 2021 first round pick that Minnesota used to select defenseman Carson Lambos.
Zucker has three goals and an assist in nine games this season.
Goaltender Tristan Jarry has seen a bulk of the action between the posts for the Pens early in the season. He's 4-2-1 with a 2.12 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage in seven starts.
