Not shocked by demotion Sheary tries to be ‘good teammate’
Conor Sheary wasn’t surprised when Penguins coach Mike Sullivan made him a healthy scratch Sunday for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final, but that doesn’t mean Sheary was happy about it.
Regardless of the decision, Sheary recognizes that the best things he can do right now are support his teammates and prepare for his next opportunity to play.
“I was definitely upset that I wasn’t in the lineup, but I think everyone kind of saw it coming,” Sheary said Monday after an optional practice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. “I’m obviously not playing my best hockey. If I’m not going to help the team win, I think there are lots of guys in this room that can do that. I have to have a better mindset coming into each game.”
Sheary has three assists in 15 games, and he’s a minus-8. He went from having a top line role to the third line to the press box while struggling to bust out of a prolonged slump. It was hardly what anyone expected from a player who enjoyed a breakout regular season, tallying 23 goals while finding a ton of chemistry with Sidney Crosby.
Now, with Sullivan adjusting his lines and the Penguins looking the best they have all season in a 7-0 rout of Ottawa Sunday, Sheary could have to wait a while.
“I just think I have to bring a good attitude to the rink every day,” Sheary said. “This time of year you’re not being a good teammate if you’re going to be negative and complain about not being in the lineup. I think you just have to be a good teammate and come to the rink and work hard every day. If you get back in the lineup, bring what you can. In my case, that’s my speed, my instincts, my forechecking, stuff like that. I need to get back to that.”
Oddly enough, Sheary was a healthy scratch for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final against Tampa Bay a season ago.
He returned to score in the first two games of the Stanley Cup final against the San Jose Sharks.
“If I’m able to crack the lineup going forward, maybe I could use that as motivation,” Sheary said.
Packing a punch
The strategy of Sullivan juggling his lines to include one “north-south” type with each group seems to break down when looking at Carl Hagelin, Matt Cullen and Josh Archibald. All three, theoretically, are good skaters more than anything.
But Archibald takes pride in playing a physical game that, on the surface anyway, doesn’t jibe with his 5-foot10, 176-pound frame. Then again, Archibald’s father, Jim, racked up 540 penalty minutes at North Dakota, 197 of them in one season.
“He was a tougher guy,” Archibald said. “I got a little bit of that from him.”
Archibald’s mother, Anne, was an NCAA swimmer at North Dakota.
The way Archibald’s line has played, more physicality should soon follow, too; they’ve been outstanding in the two games they’ve played together. Although Archibald isn’t about to pinch himselfover anything.
“I’ve thought about it,” Archibald said of going from healthy scratch to key contributor. “Right now, you don’t really want to take a step back. You want to live in the moment. Do everything you can right now.”
Injury updates
Penguins winger Scott Wilson is “fine” despite taking an elbow the face late in the game Sunday against the Ottawa Senators, Sullivan said Monday after the optional practice.
So, it’s fair to say Wilson will be ready for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final Tuesday. Same goes for Senators winger Tommy Wingels; he won’t have a hearing for the play, which occurred in the closing seconds of the Penguins’ 7-0 win.
Wilson has two goals and two assists in 13 playoff games and played a major role in Games 4 and 5, scoring once and adding speed and physicality to the lineup.
All the Penguins’ other injured players, Sullivan said, are day to day and making progress. Winger Patric Hornqvist and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel both skated before practice.
Defenseman Justin Schultz and forward Tom Kuhnhackl didn’t, but Sullivan said that was a planned part of their rehab process.
Schultz warmed up on Sunday but did not play.