MONTREAL -- If anyone so much as peripherally associated with the Penguins was enjoying one millisecond of their time here in La Belle Province, it sure wasn't evident Thursday morning at Bell Centre.
On the ice, the dozen players who participated in the optional skate whisked through drills, with barely a smile visible, barely a syllable audible. The one laugh I heard was when assistant coach Mike Vellucci reacted playfully to nearly being struck by a wayward ricochet, but even that was brief.
Don't overthink why:
"We need to get two points while we're here in Montreal," Todd Reirden, assistant coach, replied after this session when I asked about the collective mindset. He'll be behind the bench again tonight while Mike Sullivan's forced to stay in the U.S. another couple days because of Canada's COVID border policy. "And we've got to build on that last game. That's a steppingstone for us."
That last game, of course, was the 2-1 loss Tuesday back home to the Sabres, an outcome which wouldn't typically be seen as a steppingstone toward anything. But with the way the Penguins dominated the third period, spending virtually all 20 minutes in the Buffalo zone -- outshooting the Sabres, 20-3 -- that's being embraced internally. Reirden, Vellucci and Sullivan (remotely) spent time since the arrival here highlighting on video facets in which the Penguins excelled, all with a positive emphasis.
"That's the challenge for our group and this leadership that's carried us for years," Reirden continued. "I expect us to continue to get better. It's just a matter of how quickly it happens. Let's hope that tonight is that case where we do build on that third period."
The Penguins are 2-6-2 in their past 10, with no regulation wins since just before that, a 7-1 blowout of the Maple Leafs back home Oct. 23. They've scored only 19 goals in those past 10 games.
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Tristan Jarry will make the start, his eighth in nine games, yet another sign the Penguins' lack of faith in Casey DeSmith. Of Jarry, Reirden said, "Just looking at the body of work, how things have gone for him, talking to Andy ... I think he's been really solid this year, and I expect that from him here tonight in Montreal." That's goaltending coach Andy Chiodo.
• The 12 participants in the skate were Jarry, DeSmith, Jeff Carter, Brian Boyle, Sam Lafferty, Dominik Simon, Teddy Blueger, Danton Heinen, Marcus Pettersson, Mike Matheson, Mark Friedman and Chad Ruhwedel.
• No players were made available to reporters.
• Ron Hextall and Brian Burke both made the trip, by the way, and neither of them seemed to be smiling through this skate, either, at least based on what was discernible through masks.
• Sullivan's expected to communicate with the players via video before the game and between periods.
• The Canadiens skated at their practice facility in nearby Brossard, Quebec. Dominique Ducharme, Montreal's head coach, told reporters there he'll go with 22-year-old rookie Cayden Primeau in goal. It'll be Primeau's eighth NHL start, his second of the season. Tuesday night, he stopped 34 of 37 shots in a 3-2 loss to the Rangers in New York.
