Winners of five straight games, the Penguins face off against the New Jersey Devils tonight at PPG Paints Arena.
Evgeni Malkin appears as if he will play tonight after missing the last fifteen games with an undisclosed injury. He put in a second straight practice with no limitations yesterday and coach Dan Muse did some experimentation with him, switching up his lines and putting Malkin at left wing on the second line, with rookie Ben Kindel at center and Egor Chinakhov on the right wing. Muse said it was purely experimental.
Muse says the Penguins have found different ways to win during the streak, but a large part of it is growing more comfortable with their system.
Rookie winger Rutger McGroarty was placed on injured reserve yesterday with a concussion suffered in a collision with a teammate at practice on Tuesday.
The Penguins yesterday returned rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke to his junior team, the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey league. Brunicke had reached the maximum number of games played, nine, and the maximum number of games on the roster, forty, before his rookie contract would kick in. He cannot be recalled to the Pens until Kamloops’ season has ended.
Muse says the 19-year-old is highly skilled, and he can use his NHL experience to help Kamloops make a playoff run.
Faceoff against the Devils tonight is shortly after 7 o’clock. The pregame begins at 6 on 92.5 FM, U92.
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