The Penguins reach the halfway point of the regular season tonight against the Winnipeg Jets, with coach Mike Sullivan searching for the consistency he knows they will need to string together a playoff run. They are fifth in the Metro Division, four points behind the Capitals, seven behind the Devils and Rangers, and eleven in back of the Hurricanes. Only four teams will make it out of the division into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Consistency was the theme for the coach yesterday, as it has been all season long. The Penguins have won two games in a row but are only now beginning to emerge from the second long losing streak of the year. Sullivan says his team knows what needs to be done.
Sullivan says the Penguins players and coaches all know what their responsibilities are as they look for a strong start to the second half of the season.
At practice yesterday, the Pens were once again short-handed on the blue line. Defenseman Kris Letang remains in Montreal tending to family matters after the death of his father and mending from his undisclosed injury, with no timetable yet for his return to the team. Jan Rutta was given the day off as a maintenance day. Jeff Petry remains on injured reserve and skated in the morning, but not with the team at practice. And defenseman Mark Friedman was sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday to get him some consistent game action. The Pens recalled veteran defenseman Taylor Fedun from the minors but he did not arrive in time to practice.
With the defensive corps depleted, the Pens may have found a solid combination in Brian Dumoulin and the recently-recalled Ty Smith, a former first round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils who was acquired in the offseason. Sullivan likes the pairing.
Injured goaltender Tristan Jarry, defenseman Jeff Petry, and forwards Ryan Poehling and Josh Archibald all skated prior to practice. All are listed as day to day with no timetable for their returns to game action.
The Penguins and Jets face off at 7 o’clock tonight, with the pregame beginning at 6 on 92.5 FM U92. It’s the first of back-to-back games for the Pens, who travel to Carolina tomorrow night.
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