NEW YORK -- Jason Zucker will not be in the Penguins' lineup when they face the Rangers tonight at 7:08 at Madison Square Garden.
Brock McGinn won't be, either.
Which means it's pretty much guaranteed that Danton Heinen will be.
How long he stays there, though, is a reasonable topic for debate, unless he elevates his game in the reasonably near future.
Heinen, who has been effective in a top-six role at times this season, worked on the fourth line with Brian Boyle and Anthony Angello during the Penguins' 6-4 loss to the Avalanche Tuesday.
He is not a prototypical grind-line winger, but has just three goals and five assists in the past 24 games, and has been held off the scoresheet in 18 of those.
"Each player has to make an impact on the game and try to find ways to help us win," Mike Sullivan said after the Penguins' optional game-day skate. "If the puck's not going in the net for you and you're not scoring, there have to be other aspects of your game that you're bringing to the table to help us win.
"So if it's not going in the net for a player like Danton, where it was earlier in the year, there needs to be an emphasis on a lot of the other things: Just making sure we don't turn pucks over, (that) you don't become a high-risk player because you're trying to score so much that you force some things that aren't there.
"Just taking what the game gives you, playing a responsible game, making good decisions with the puck, being good on the (boards). Being reliable and trustworthy defensively, things of that nature. That's the conversation I've had with Danton, and other players in just helping them understand how they can have an impact -- a positive impact -- on the outcome of the game and helping us be a better team."
Heinen has 14 goals and 14 assists in 65 games this season, and Sullivan seemed confident he can get his productivity back to its earlier level.
"Danton's a very good player for us, and depending on how things go, we've shuffled the deck here a little bit, as far as our line combinations," he said. "Part of it has been out of necessity, because of some of the injuries that we've had. We've had a guy like (Zucker), for example, be in the lineup and now he's back out of the lineup, so we've had to shuffle the deck for a number of reasons.
"One of the other reasons is trying to find more balance and production through our lineup. I think Danton's probably fallen victim to that a little bit, as well. He's a good player for us. We believe in Danton. We know he's a guy who's going to help us here, moving forward."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• A couple of hours after the skate, the Penguins recalled forward Filip Hallander from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, on an emergency basis. There was no immediate explanation for the move.
• Zucker and McGinn both participated in the optional game-day skate, wearing regular jerseys.
• Tristan Jarry did not participate in the skate, which is unusual for him, but will start in goal. "We're at a particular point in the season where rest is probably the priority," Sullivan said. "I'm sure that was probably part of the decision on his part."
• Rangers left winger Chris Kreider, who has three goals and two assists in three games against the Penguins this season, leads the NHL with 25 power-play goals. "He's an imposing player, physically," Sullivan said. "He's big and strong. He has dynamic, explosive speed and he can really shoot the puck."
• Other participants in the skate were Casey DeSmith, Mark Friedman, Marcus Pettersson, Chad Ruhwedel, Teddy Blueger, Angello and Heinen.
• Because it was an optional, there were no personnel combinations of consequence.
