Let the games begin
Penguins feel good about themselves despite a few injuries
The preseason is over, the countdown to Thursday night’s season opener against the Washington Capitals can now be done on one hand and the 23-man roster is close to being finalized, if it hasn’t been already.
The Penguins, despite dealing with a few minor injuries last week, feel good as their first meaningful game approaches. Compared to this time a year ago, after a second consecutive shortbut-totally-worth-it offseason, they are sharp, fresh, determined and, they hope, deep.
“I definitely think there’s a little bit of a different vibe this year,” coach Mike Sullivan said.
Sullivan said the Penguins plan to use these final few days to do “our due diligence in preparing our guys for all of the situations they’re going to be faced with.” In Sunday’s practice, for example, Sullivan had them work on 5-on-3 situations, causing two penaltykillers to later plop down at their locker stalls and bemoan the tough task of trying to keep that stacked power play in check.
“It’s an important week for us,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to try to maximize every opportunity.”
The Penguins also will use it to determine who is in their lineup Thursday at PPG Paints Arena.
They have until Tuesday’s 5 p.m. deadline to make two more moves and get their final roster down to 23 men. And then Sullivan and Co. must decide which 20 will don sweaters for the season opener. Sullivan said that injuries have complicated the decision-making process a bit.
Brian Dumoulin, who was injured in the second period of Friday’s preseason finale in Columbus and did not return, missed Sunday’s practice and remains day to day with an upper-body injury, Sullivan said. With Dumoulin out, newcomer Juuso Riikola was Kris Letang’s defensive partner.
Daniel Sprong, who injured his lower body late in the third period of Wednesday’s preseason game, also was held out. The winger has yet to practice with the team since getting hurt, but Sullivan said it is “encouraging” that Sprong skated by himself before Sunday’s practice.
And Tristan Jarry, who is duking it out with Casey DeSmith for the backup goalie gig, was sidelined Sunday, too. Jarry apparently had a lower-body injury in the preseason finale before he gave way to DeSmith halfway through, which was planned. Before that, Jarry allowed four goals on only 13 shots.
The good news is that the “nagging” upper-body injury that sidelined Justin Schultz for a couple of days last week might be in his rear-view mirror, as he practiced again Sunday. Fellow defenseman Olli Maatta also was on the ice Sunday after he was surprisingly scratched for Friday’s 7-6 loss.
All these absences have given roster hopefuls such as forwards Zach AstonReese and Derek Grant and defensemen Riikola and Zach Trotman more time to make an impression on Sullivan’s staff.
It has definitely been a positive one for Riikola, who previously played his pro hockey in Finland.
“Juuso’s handled it extremely well,” Sullivan said. “The game in Columbus was the closest thing to an NHL game as far as the rosters on both teams and I thought he had a really strong game.”
With Riikola’s quick transition to the NHL’s speed and smaller arenas, the Penguins appear to have at least eight NHL-caliber defensemen to choose from. They like what they’ve got up front, too.
“We’ve been a team historically that has played four lines. We believe that’s been part of the reason for some of the success we’ve enjoyed over the last three years,” said Sullivan, who took over the bench in 2015. “So, we believe we have the makings of four lines we think we can play.”
Of course, he said something similar before last season. Did he say it then with as much conviction?
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t,” Sullivan admitted.
At the moment, the Penguins “have a good feeling with the depth that we have,” Sullivan said. And in the coming days they must finalize which players will stick around to open the season. Trimming the roster hasn’t been easy.
“Obviously, we’ve got to think through just the business side of the game and the salary cap and roster sizes and waivers and all of those things,” Sullivan said. “But [GM] Jim [Rutherford] has a pretty good handle on it all and he advises us in trying to make the best decisions for our group.”