CRANBERRY, Pa. -- For the first time this season, Evgeni Malkin joined his teammates on the ice for practice at the Lemieux Complex without his white non-contact jersey.
Don't start penciling him into the lineup yet, though.
Mike Sullivan said following the practice that Malkin isn't yet a full participant, but he is taking "limited contact."
"The practice didn't involve a whole lot of contact," Sullivan explained. "But certainly his participation was as close as we've gotten to 100%. But he's still in a limited contact fashion."
Much of the practice was devoted to power play work, with Malkin rotating in on the second power play unit. During the five-on-five portion of the practice, Evgeni Malkin skated on the left wing of Jeff Carter's line, with Danton Heinen on the opposite wing. Malkin replaced Jason Zucker, who was absent from practice with what Sullivan called a "maintenance day."
This is the second practice in which Malkin worked on a left wing in drills, after he previously rotated in on Sidney Crosby's wing in Thursday's practice.
With the Penguins having solid top-three center depth in Crosby, Carter, and Teddy Blueger, could Malkin actually end up seeing some time at wing, if even just to ease his transition back into the lineup?
Sullivan quickly shot down that idea.
"It's more about just trying to make the practice as functional as we can make it, given some of the logistics with players that we have that are practicing and aren't," Sullivan said. "I don't perceive Geno playing the wing. I think he's a true center."
Will Malkin still not taking full contact in practices, it's too early to project when he may return to the lineup. But his teammates are excited to see him continue to take these small steps toward a return.
"It's always fun to see one of those guys that's been missing a lot of time," said Kris Letang. "You know, it gets lonely sometime when you're injured. Getting him back out there and a part of our practice and morning skate, it's fun to see him. Obviously he's a really good player, he looks pretty good out there. He makes everybody look better also, so pretty excited."
Sullivan said that Malkin brings "a certain level of enthusiasm" to the rink.
"The fact that he's participating the way he does, I think is exciting for all of us," Sullivan said. "It's obvious to say that we're a better team when he's in our lineup. He's working his very hardest to try to get there as soon as he can. So our guys are excited about that, about that opportunity."
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Brian Boyle remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury and did not practice. He skated with Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust before the practice.
• Skills coach Ty Hennes remains in COVID protocol.
• The Penguins used the same lines and pairings as they used against the Sabres, aside from Malkin subbing in for Zucker:
Evan Rodrigues – Sidney Crosby – Kasperi Kapanen
Evgeni Malkin – Jeff Carter – Danton Heinen
Zach Aston-Reese – Teddy Blueger – Brock McGinn
Drew O'Connor – Sam Lafferty – Dominik Simon
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - John Marino
Mike Matheson - Chad Ruhwedel
(Mark Friedman)
• The top power play unit was Letang, Crosby, Carter, Evan Rodrigues, and Kasperi Kapanen, with Kapanen being the player elevated to the top unit in Zucker's absence.
• The second power play unit was John Marino, Mike Matheson, Dominik Simon, Drew O'Connor, and Heinen, with Malkin rotating with different players on different run-throughs.
• The NHL announced new COVID protocols for players, with the biggest change being restricting what players can do while on the road. A copy of the full memorandum sent to teams and players can be found here.
"Last year, we were wearing masks everywhere in the room, we had virtual meeting instead of in-room meetings," Letang explained. "We also were not allowed to go to restaurants or bars or any public place on the road. We only could order to the room or get Uber Eats. So it's back in place to make sure we take all the chance possible to not spread the virus."
• With Boyle still sidelined, Sam Lafferty figures to remain fourth-line center.
"He did pretty well," O'Connor said of Lafferty centering his line. "I mean, Laffs has a ton of speed. I think we got some good looks there. You know, obviously whether it's him or Boyle, I think they're both good players. So I think we got some good looks, but yeah, he did well, I thought."
• O'Connor grew up in Chatham, N.J., just a 20-minute drive from the Devils' Prudential Center. While he's played against the Devils before at home, Sunday's game in New Jersey will be his first homecoming game.
"Going there will be pretty fun," O'Connor said. "I have a lot of family and stuff like that there, so it should be a fun game. Looking forward to it."
O'Connor named Martin Brodeur and Zach Parise as Devils players he enjoyed watching growing up, and said that his favorite memory being at a Devils game was Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Final, when Adam Henrique's overtime goal clinched the series against the Rangers and sent the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final.
• The Bruins are among several teams currently shut down due to COVID protocols, with the NHL postponing the Bruins' next four games, through the game on Dec. 23. The Bruins' next game on the schedule is Dec. 27 at home against the Penguins. That game is currently still on, but it's something to keep an eye on.
