Getting healthy for playoff push
Letang, Rust fully participate in practice
The Penguins, who beat two of the NHL’s hottest teams this week and now can also be considered one of the NHL’s hottest teams, are theoretically about to get stronger.
The morning after the Penguins blanked the Sabres in Buffalo, defenseman Kris Letang and forward Bryan Rust took big steps in their recovery when they hit the ice — without noncontact jerseys — for the start of practice Friday in Cranberry. For the first time in a while, both practiced without limitations.
Rust, who is working his way back from a lower-body injury, said he felt strong after chasing after Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the top powerplay unit during a penalty-kill drill. Letang, who didn’t make the trip to Buffalo, also was feeling good as he, too, reached the final hurdle in his recovery.
Their activity Friday suggests that they are poised to return in the coming games, perhaps even one this weekend. After watching them skate, coach Mike Sullivan wouldn’t rule out that possibility. Once they get the green light, he will have decisions to make.
As well as the team’s defensemen have played in Letang’s absence, we likely can assume that Sullivan won’t send the All-Star straight to the press box. Zach Trotman, a right-handed defenseman who held his own in the nine games Letang has missed, is the likeliest candidate to be the odd man out.
But what will Sullivan do when it comes to the power play? With steady Justin Schultz running the point, the Penguins have scored a pair of power-play goals in each of the last two games. If Friday’s practice was any indication, Sullivan plans to stick with Schultz, who remained on the top unit at least for now.
Letang suffered an upper-body injury Feb. 23 in the outdoor Stadium Series game in Philadelphia. He returned to a practice setting, wearing a non-contact jersey, last Tuesday and skated again a day later. Then he got sick, so the team left him behind for their road game in Columbus last Saturday.
“I got sick during the time I was injured, so I wasn’t able to skate. But it was nothing crazy,” said Letang, who wouldn’t describe it as a setback. “It didn’t affect the injury [recovery]. … I was just sick.”
Letang was back in a practice setting Tuesday but stayed behind again Wednesday when the Penguins traveled to Buffalo, where they posted a 5-0 shutout win Thursday. Letang instead worked with Penguins skating and skills development coach Ty Hennes and fellow defenseman Olli Maatta back here.
Friday, Letang donned a regular jersey, not a red one.
“I feel pretty good,” he said. “I’ve been skating forever, so my conditioning is there. That’s for sure.”
While Letang’s return to the lineup has been a bit meandering, things with Rust escalated quickly the past two days, so much so he admitted it all was a “little bit faster than I expected.”
When Rust was injured after colliding with Blue Jackets defenseman Adam McQuaid in a Feb. 26 win in Columbus, he left Nationwide Arena on crutches and initially feared he was hurt more seriously.
“I didn’t feel very great then,” Rust said, adding, “I think everybody thought it was worse.”
Rust, who has a career-high 17 goals, made his return to a practice setting at the Thursday morning skate in Buffalo. That was a non-contact session for him. A day later, in Cranberry, he was a full-go.
Since we last saw Rust in uniform, Jared McCann emerged alongside Crosby and Jake Guentzel.
“He’s played well,” Sullivan said. “One of the reasons that we originally put him on that line is because he brings a speed dimension. He can really skate, get in on the forecheck, force turnovers and he’s helped Sid and Jake in that regard. … They’ve shown some chemistry, and we’ll see where it goes.”
That description sounds a lot like Rust, who was playing well with those two before getting hurt.
With the new top line often carrying the Penguins the past couple of weeks, Sullivan might actually try to resist tinkering with it. If so, he will need to decide where to play Rust.
The logical spot looks to be on the second line, where Teddy Blueger tried to keep up with Malkin and Phil Kessel in the two-plus games since Zach Aston-Reese suffered a “longer-term” injury.
“It’s a challenge, but it’s a good one,” he said. “We’ve got a real capable group of players here, and the guys that have been in the lineup have done a terrific job. But, obviously, these guys that are coming back are important players for our team. So our coaching staff will have some difficult decisions.”
Added Crosby: “It will be great to get guys back, whenever that is. … I think guys have done a great job filling in, and we just have to make sure we keep playing the same way and have the same mentality.”
No other injured player practiced Friday, which is not alarming. Maatta, Aston-Reese and Chad Ruhwedel were all previously deemed “longer term” by Sullivan. Maatta looks the closest to returning among those three.