Back on the East Coast after a three-game road trip to California, the Penguins skate in New York tonight against the Islanders.
While the team flew to New York yesterday, goaltender Tristan Jarry stayed behind for doctors’ appointments and was scheduled to join his teammates on a later flight. Jarry has missed the last seven games with an undisclosed injury but coach Mike Sullivan says he is close to being ready to return to the lineup, perhaps as early as one of the two games this weekend. The Pens play three games in four days, returning to Pittsburgh to host the New Jersey Devils tomorrow and then hosting the Islanders on Monday.
Sullivan says games within the Metro Division, like the next three the Penguins will play, have an added weight behind them because the division is so tight.
With 63 points, the Penguins are in fourth place in the Metro, nine points behind the Rangers, one point ahead of the Capitals and two up on the Islanders. They hold the first of the two Eastern Conference playoff positions, by just a point over the Caps and the Florida Panthers.
Sullivan knows goaltending will continue to be key for the Penguins this weekend, and while he waits anxiously for Jarry to return, he likes what he is seeing from backup Casey DeSmith.
Sullivan says the nightly battles that NHL teams fight, even against teams that are not in the playoff chase, are real tests of a team’s will.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby says the Penguins are continuing to look for a solid sixty-minute game.
Winger Byran Rust says the schedule has been tough on the Penguins, especially this week, with a flight to Pittsburgh from San Jose for a day followed by jetting off to New York for tonight’s game, and then back to Pittsburgh tomorrow.
Injured forward Ryan Poehling and defenseman Mark Friedman were non-participants at practice yesterday, but defenseman Jan Rutta, who has missed the last eleven games, was a full participant. Rutta is eligible to come off injured reserve but the Pens have to make roster adjustments to fit him in under the salary cap.
The Penguins and Islanders face off at seven o’clock tonight. The pregame airs on 92.5 FM U92 at 6.
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