Cole injured in practice, but should play

TORONTO — Ian Cole was up to some of his old tricks Thursday.

Not only did Cole skate on a third defense pairing with longtime partner Justin Schultz — an indication Cole will be in the lineup Friday after three consecutive healthy scratches — but he sustained a gruesome, albeit minor, injury.

One he incurred — of course — by having a puck hit him in an unenviable spot.

While trying to box out Riley Sheahan, a shot hit Cole on the top of his thumb. Blood gushed. His nail cracked in half. Cole missed a few minutes of practice and then laughed about it afterward.

“The puck hit it right on the tip,” Cole said. “Jammed it. Split my nail open. It killed. I think it’s fine. I can still bend it and everything. It’s not broken, but, man, did it hurt.”

Getting pinged with pucks is nothing new for Cole, who blocked a franchise-record 194 pucks a season ago. That’s a number that has likely come up in trade talks, as the Penguins are in the process of wading through offers involving Cole.

If he still is with the Penguins by 7 p.m. Friday, it appears that Cole — who statistically has been among their best defensemen thus far — will be back into the lineup, although he’s not reading too much into that.

“The lineup is posted on game-day mornings,” Cole said. “I don’t really know what the final plan is. Whatever it is, we’ll be ready.”

66 zinged a guy

Former NHL goaltender Glenn Healy stopped by Penguins practice at Mastercard Centre Thursday and left a gift with equipment man Dana Heinze. It was a Mario Lemieux jersey from his days with the Laval Voisins.

Healy, who’s the executive director of the NHL Alumni Association, also told a terrific Mario story. Toward the end of Lemieux’s career, Healy approached Lemieux and asked for one of Mario’s sticks.

“Of course,” Healy recalled Lemieux saying, “You’ve been really good to me throughout my career.”

Lemieux, as Healy explained, wasn’t talking about guidance or wisdom bestowed. More how many times Lemieux victimized Healy. Just imagine what Lemieux might’ve said to John Vanbiesbrouck had he asked.

Time with Stanley

Whenever the Penguins are on the road, Brian Dumoulin loves checking out new restaurants; he’s often cited as the player who’s most into food, whether that means cooking or eating it.

Dumoulin hasn’t experienced anything like this, though.

Wednesday, after they donated a Stanley Cup ring to the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Penguins had the place to themselves for an hour and also had dinner there — with the Cup, of course.

“It’s always good seeing the Cup again,” Dumoulin said. “That’s one thing that doesn’t get old.” And the food? “They had good hors d’oeuvres,” Dumoulin said. “We had short ribs for dinner. It was really good, a fun experience.”

The Penguins spent another hour Thursday afternoon touring the archives portion of the Hall of Fame, which is housed inside Mastercard Centre.

“To have an opportunity to spend time like this, I think it’s invaluable for our team,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “It puts a lot of things in perspective. I hope our players gain a certain level of appreciation for the generations that have come before them and the great players that have carved the way for the game to be what it is today.”

Rooting for Flower

Vegas Golden Knights general manager George McPhee said recently that Marc-Andre Fleury — out since Oct. 13 with a concussion — has been skating some, but he hasn’t progressed enough to where his brain is 100 percent.

McPhee, speaking on SportsNet 590 in Toronto, also said that Fleury’s symptoms are down to one, and the severity is very low.

Count Kris Letang on the many Penguins following Fleury’s battle and thinking positive thoughts.

“It’s a problem that he’s had in the past [meaning concussions],” Letang said. “You hate to see a guy going through that again. Hopefully, he takes his time and comes back the right way.”

Letang said he has stayed in communication with Fleury but tries to not ask about the injury much.

“We don’t know what’s going on, how he feels,” Letang said. “The only thing we can do is hope for the best.”