Ottawa D Karlsson sparkles all the time

It’s not that the Penguins don’t recognize — and respect — the problems players such as Kyle Turris, Craig Anderson, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Bobby Ryan, among others, could cause for them in the Eastern Conference final.

But they also realize Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson is a singular talent, capable of altering the course of a game — or a series — with a burst of individual excellence.

“I feel like every time we play them, he stands out,” Penguins center Sidney Crosby said. “With how many minutes he plays and the way he works their power play and controls the game, he’s always the guy who stands out when you watch them.”

Karlsson is the Senators’ leading scorer in the postseason, with two goals and 11 assists in 12 games, a reflection of his exceptional skating and puck skills.

“Obviously, he’s a really good player,” said Penguins right winger Patric Hornqvist, who has been on Swedish national teams with Karlsson. “He makes things happen from nothing.”

Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz noted that Karlsson often creates oddman rushes by joining the play, and that he “can skate himself and the team out of trouble.”

While there is no obvious antidote to Karlsson’s talent, the Penguins will attempt to limit the time he has to make plays.

“We have to make sure we’re really hard on him and don’t give him time and space,” Hornqvist said.

The Penguins presumably will try to hit Karlsson whenever possible, but trying to play the body on him can be risky because of his skating and puck-moving ability.

“You have to make sure you don’t go too hard on him,” Hornqvist said. “Because, if you’re running at him and he has time and space, he’s going to move it and go by you.”

Injury updates

Forward Carl Hagelin rejoined the Penguins for practice Friday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry. He missed Game 7 Wednesday, as he has been battling what coach Mike Sullivan referred to as “some injuries.”

Hagelin missed 22 games with a lower-body injury before returning in the middle of the Capitals series.

“Hagelin has been dealing with a lower-body injury here for some time,” Sullivan said. “In our estimation, it was an opportunity for him to get a little bit more rest. He’s trying to push through some injuries here.”

Sullivan confirmed that forward Tom Kuhnhackl was a healthy scratch. Defenseman Trevor Daley, who did not practice Friday, remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Crosby has full plate

Crosby said he’s not worried about any carryover from a 2-1 shootout loss March 23 at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. In that game, a stick-check by Crosby severely injured one of Senators defenseman Marc Methot’s fingers.

Senators owner Eugene Melnyk subsequently went on a tirade about how Crosby whines too much, among other incendiary things.

“I’m worried about playing hockey,” Crosby said. “That’s my focus. There’s always story lines in series, things like that. This time of year, with how important these games are, I have more than enough on my plate as far as getting ready to play.

Gonchar’s role to increase

With Jason Botterill now in Buffalo, general manager Jim Rutherford will meet with assistant GM Bill Guerin, vice president of hockey operations Jason Karmanos and player development coach Mark Recchi about how to adjust duties.

Defensive development coach Sergei Gonchar also should see his role grow.

“Gonch is very good,” Rutherford said. “He’s not here all the time because he still lives in Dallas. I see a bigger role for him going forward.”

More from Rutherford

Rutherford also called Marc-Andre Fleury “one of the best team players in all of sports” and reiterated his stance that he’s going to be sticking around a while.

“I don’t really think about it,” Rutherford said of retirement. “I guess the fact that I’m not thinking about it, it’ll be for a while longer, whatever that means. I don’t know. I just don’t think about it.”

Head games

Hornqvist has long approached his work with a warrior’s mentality.

These days, he has the look, too.

He slid face-first into the skate of Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen in Game 6 of the second round and has severe discoloration under his left eye and assorted other bruises to show for it.

“His skate hit me up here,” Hornqvist said. “I got lucky.”