Just as one Penguins defenseman seemed to be nearing a return, another was nowhere to be seen on the ice Tuesday.
At Honda Center in Anaheim, Dan Muse ran a more structured practice for Pittsburgh, with the focus shifted toward repetition after a weekend that brought a win over the LA Kings and a loss to the Anaheim Ducks. The session leaned heavily into breakouts and small-area work rather than battle drills, and the Penguins also got in power-play work, including a 5-on-3.
Muse also made a noticeable tweak to his forward groups, breaking up a third line that had been struggling badly. Hendrix Lapierre and Andrei Kuzmenko were out of the regular rotations, while Rutger McGroarty was in.
McGroarty, 22, still has no points in two NHL games this season. Lapierre and Kuzmenko, meanwhile, have been getting caved in lately, with little offensive-zone time or shot volume against both LA and Anaheim.
The line rushes and drills had the Penguins set up this way:
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Evgeni Malkin
Egor Chinakhov-Ben Kindel-Nick Robertson
Justin Brazeau-Tommy Novak-Ville Koivunen
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Rutger McGroarty
On defense, Pittsburgh went with:
Spencer Stastney-Erik Karlsson
Trevor van Riemsdyk-Kaedan Korczak
Declan Carlile-Kris Letang
The goaltenders were Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov.
The power-play units were:
PP1: Karlsson-Kindel-Novak-Crosby-Rakell
PP2: Letang-Malkin-Chinakhov-Koivunen-Brazeau
The missing defenseman was Sam Girard. Pittsburgh Hockey Now said it would update the story after Muse spoke to the media following practice.
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Penguins Youth Movement Is Starting A Roster Debate They Can't Ignore
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Rutger McGroarty and Avery Hayes are among the forwards making the case from the minors, while Harrison Brunicke stands out on the blue line as the most promising defense prospect, even if he is currently sidelined. The broader issue is bigger than any one call-up, though, because a heavier reliance on young players brings obvious growing pains at a time when the draft lottery has changed how teams think about rebuilding. For the Penguins, the debate is no longer whether the youth movement is coming, but how much of it they can absorb at once. [Read more 🡒]