The Penguins could have both Brian Dumoulin and John Marino back in the lineup on Tuesday against the Senators.
Dumoulin and Marino were full participants in the Penguins' practice on Monday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena, taking contact and participating in line rushes. Mike Sullivan said both will be game-time decisions on Tuesday.
Nick Bjugstad was also a full participant in practice, receiving full contact for the first time since undergoing core muscle surgery in November. He has already been ruled out for Tuesday's game.
"It's real encouraging to get these guys back participating in a full capacity," Sullivan said. "It's more a case of guys getting his timing back and the intensity of a game environment. It's very difficult to simulate that in the preparation process and part of the return-to-play process. That's something I think you only get by participating in a game scenario."
In the case of the two defensemen who could potentially return tomorrow, Sullivan doesn't think they'll have much of an issue getting back up to speed.
"John Marino hasn't missed very much, so in his case I think that adjustment will be fast," he said. "Dumo is a guy that is a real smart player and has a lot of experience to draw on so I think that will help him. There's no question that there's going to be an adjustment process."
Dumoulin, who has been skating since mid-February and practicing with the team for a week now, has used these skates to try to get back up to that speed.
"I'm doing good," Dumoulin said. "It was good to go on the California trip with them and skate with the team a little bit. I haven't had a lot of skates with them, so it was good this last week to get back with them and try to get up to game speed. The pace of play is something I need to adjust to, but the best way to do that is get back into games. I'm looking forward to doing that hopefully sometime this week."
Marino is three weeks removed from his facial surgery, on the short end of the three to six-week timeframe the Penguins originally gave for his absence. His face still looks a little puffy from the procedure, and he now has about an inch-long scar on his cheek.
"Each day the swelling goes down less and less," Marino said. "The medical staff did a great job, the people that I worked with. I had a lot of help."
Marino skated in a full shield, something players like Sidney Crosby have said can obstruct their vision. That's something he's still adjusting to.
"I'll wear it for a little while," he said. "Just in case, if you get hit in the face again or something like that. The little things you kind of notice, looking over your shoulder is a little tougher. I didn't wear it too long ago (in college) so hopefully the adjustment isn't that much of a difference."
The Penguins were short two forwards -- Patrick Marleau and Dominik Simon -- in Monday's practice.
Marleau's absence was no cause for concern: He did not fly back with the Penguins after Saturday's loss in San Jose, and stayed in town to help pack up his family and is flying with his family from San Jose to Pittsburgh today.
Simon is week-to-week with an upper-body injury after left Saturday's game in the third period:
Earlier, Dominik Simon left game after this collision with Radim Simek pic.twitter.com/LgAT5XO8zz
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 1, 2020
Without Marleau and Simon missing, and with Dumoulin, Marino, and Bjugstad practicing, the line rushes were:
Jason Zucker -- Sidney Crosby -- Conor Sheary
Nick Bjugstad -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust
Evan Rodrigues -- Jared McCann -- Patric Hornqvist
Brandon Tanev -- Teddy Blueger -- Sam Lafferty
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson -- John Marino
Jack Johnson -- Justin Schultz
Juuso Riikola -- Chad Ruhwedel
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Zach Trotman did not practice and was re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
• The top power play was Kris Letang, Crosby, Jason Zucker, Patric Hornqvist, and Evgeni Malkin.
• The second power play was Marino, Justin Schultz, Jared McCann, and Bryan Rust, with Bjugstad and Conor Sheary alternating in the last spot.
• Arizona State hockey forward Austin Lemieux was in the stands watching practice. He was joined by his father, Mario, who also played hockey.
