CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Jason Zucker said that he didn't want to "make excuses" for his play earlier in the season.
Through the first three months of the season, Zucker had recorded just four goals and seven assists through 30 games, primarily in a top-six role. His shooting percentage had dropped to just 4.9 percent.
Unbeknownst to the public, Zucker had been playing through a core muscle injury for what he said was "quite a while."
It would be easy to blame his earlier struggles on the injury, but Zucker didn't want to use that as a defense.
"If I'm good enough to be in the lineup, I should be performing," he said after Saturday's practice at the Lemieux Complex. "Yes, I was playing through an injury but if I'm good enough to be in the lineup, I should be performing."
Zucker missed six practices in the month of December with what were called "maintenance days" at the time as he tried to work through the injury, before being declared "week-to-week" on Dec. 27.
"We were kind of piecing it together," Zucker said of that initial time off. "We had a lot of guys out with COVID, we had a lot kind of going on. So it made sense to battle through that. Took some time off, it kind of worked out. With all those games being canceled, it was a little bit of a blessing in disguise there. So I was able to take some time, ended up being about four weeks off."
Zucker first began skating on his own on Jan. 4, and returned to the Penguins' lineup on Jan. 17 in the team's game in Vegas. He skated on Evgeni Malkin's wing that game and scored two goals.
"We were happy with the progress at the time," Zucker said of that first return in Vegas. "Felt pretty good about it. I felt I was as close to 100 percent on the ice as I could have been. I still had a little bit issues off the ice. But it was something we were comfortable with. I came back in that game, I felt pretty good in the game."
It was the next day that Zucker said he had "some issues," and realized that he wasn't quite where he wanted to be. He was added back to injured reserve three days after that game in Vegas and designated "week-to-week" as he and the team explored their options.
On Jan. 25, Zucker finally underwent surgery to repair the muscle.
Zucker resumed skating on his own with skills coach Ty Hennes in the first week of March, and finally joined his teammates for a full practice for the first time (albeit in a non-contact jersey) on Saturday.
Zucker still isn't quite sure when he'll be cleared to return, calling it a "work in progress." But he said that he feels "really good" after being back on the ice with the team today.
"It's been a tough time being out," Zucker said. "I mean, you never want to be away from the team. It's always tough being injured in a way. But overall, it feels really good now, and I'm happy with my progress."
Zucker rotated in on the fourth line in the session, and skated with the second group of penalty-killers during the special teams work. He still has some steps to take before he's ready to return, but Mike Sullivan thought that Zucker looked "pretty good" for his first practice back.
"He's been working hard to get himself to this point," Sullivan said. "We're really encouraged with his progress, hopefully we can progress him to the next stage -- which is full capacity -- here sooner than later. So that's exciting. Anytime you get a player like Zuck close to coming back, I think it gives everyone a boost, because they know how important he is to our team and what he's capable of doing as far as helping us win games."
Jeff Carter said that he and his teammates are looking forward to that boost Zucker will add whenever he is ready to return.
"Zuck's a guy that brings a little bit everything to our lineup," Carter said. "He brings the energy. He's on the pucks. He's feisty. He can contribute offensively. Whenever it is that he's back in the lineup here, it'll be a big boost for us."
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Casey DeSmith, after leaving Friday's game early following a collision with Brian Dumoulin, skated with Ty Hennes prior to practice and was a full participant during the practice. Sullivan said that DeSmith "checked out fine."
• Brock McGinn joined Zucker and DeSmith for the session before practice. McGinn, who is believed to be dealing with a wrist injury, is still just using one hand on his stick.
• Evgeni Malkin was absent from practice, still dealing with his non-COVID illness. Sullivan said that he'd anticipate Malkin being a game-time decision Sunday against the Red Wings.
• If Malkin isn't ready to go, Kasper Bjorkqvist is the next man up. He was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis following practice. Bjorkqvist scored his sixth goal of the year in Wilkes-Barre's 5-1 win in Toronto on Tuesday.
• With no Malkin at practice, lines and pairings remained the same as they were in Friday's game, with Zucker rotating in on the fourth line:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Rickard Rakell - Jeff Carter - Kasperi Kapanen
Danton Heinen - Teddy Blueger - Evan Rodrigues
Radim Zohorna - Brian Boyle - Jason Zucker/Mark Friedman
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Mike Matheson - John Marino
Marcus Pettersson - Chad Ruhwedel
• The top power play was Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, Jake Guentzel, Evan Rodrigues
• The second power play was Mike Matheson, Rickard Rakell, Danton Heinen, Kasperi Kapanen, Carter
• I asked Carter what his impressions have been of Rakell since the trade.
"I think he's going to fit in well with us," Carter said. "Obviously it's not easy coming in to a new team, there's a little bit of a transition period. But I thought he's played well for us. If you watch him when he's got the puck, he's he's a pretty high-skilled player. So I think once he settles in here, it'll be good."
Carter remembers Rakell well from their meetings during Carter's time on the Kings.
"He's a guy that you always need to know where he is on the ice, especially in the offensive zone," Carter recalled. "I think if he's getting the puck in the right areas, there's a good chance it's going in. He's a high-quality offensive player."
• We've seen a couple of players wearing wild T-shirts of their teammates a couple of times this season. The last one was the "Big Boyle" shirt, with Brian Boyle's face photoshopped onto a Steelers player's body. Rust, at the time, said he had no idea what the story was behind the shirts, adding that they just started floating around the locker room:
The shirts appear to be coming from the Penguins' equipment staff, according to the staff's Instagram page. A new shirt dropped today, with Zucker coming to his media availability wearing a shirt with Mark Friedman's face photoshopped onto the body of Lord Farquaad, the main antagonist and ruler of Duloc from the movie Shrek:
TAYLOR HAASE / DKPS
Like Rust, Zucker wasn't quite sure of the origin of the shirts.
"It was in my locker today, I don't have a story for you," he said. "I have no idea."
Some people have asked throughout this season how Friedman's teammates feel about him, given the apparent animosity between Friedman and his former Flyers teammates. I think that the Penguins' players wearing shirts with Friedman's face on it gives you your answer.
