The Penguins will be without Sidney Crosby Friday night as they look to eliminate the Rangers in Game 6 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series, Mike Sullivan told reporters after the Penguins' Friday morning skate.
Goaltender Tristan Jarry, who has missed the entirety of the postseason with a broken foot, participated in the Penguins' morning skate, but will not suit up for Game 6, Sullivan said. It was the first time Jarry joined the team in a mandatory skate since the injury occurred.
Rickard Rakell, out with an injury since Game 1, was dubbed a game-time decision by Sullivan. He participated in the Penguins' skate in a regular black jersey. However, he did not take part in any line rushes, indicating he might be another game away from returning.
Crosby, injured in the second period of Game 5 after taking a high hit from Jacob Trouba, did not take part in the Penguins' skate, but Sullivan told reporters that Crosby skated with Penguins' skills coach Ty Hennes in advance of the team taking the ice.
"He's in a good place." That's all the rest of what Sullivan had to offer on Crosby. Even though he's out for Game 6, it can only serve as a good sign that Crosby is on the ice fewer than 48 hours after he was taken out by Trouba's hit.
As for Jarry, the decision to keep him out of the lineup might have to do with the very minimal time he has spent on the ice with the team during his rehab process, even if his foot feels good enough to go.
"When Tristan's ready to play, and everybody feels comfortable that he's ready to play, then certainly we'll put him in the lineup," Sullivan said. "We've had all those conversations behind the scenes with our medical staff and our coaching staff. We're trying to put players in the best position to be successful. We understand how important he is to our team, and so, we're trying to make decisions accordingly that's best for the team, and best for Tristan."
Jarry practiced without any visible limitations and took plenty of shots from his teammates throughout the skate.
MORE FROM THE SKATE:
• Injured defenseman Brian Dumoulin has yet to hit the ice as he recovers from injury. He has not played since Game 1. Sullivan said Dumoulin is progressing through his off-ice rehab.
• Without Crosby, the Penguins rocked some new-look lines at the skate:
Jake Guentzel - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen - Evan Rodrigues - Kasperi Kapanen
Jason Zucker - Jeff Carter - Brock McGinn
Brian Boyle - Teddy Blueger - Drew O'Connor / Radim Zohorna
The pairings on defense remained unchanged.
• After the formal portion of the skate wrapped up, I caught Sullivan having a brief one-on-one chat with Malkin along the boards at the blue line. I'd imagine Sullivan was telling Malkin to play within himself and try not to overcompensate for Crosby's absence. We've seen the Russian elevate his game without Crosby in the lineup over and over again. Centering the team's best wingers, Game 6 shouldn't be much different.
• "He's played some of his best hockey this season at the center position," Sullivan said, when asked about Rodrigues and his elevated role centering the second line. "One of the reasons we signed E-Rod was just because of his versatility and our ability to move him up and down the lineup, depending on what the needs of the team are, and he's certainly fulfilled that for us this year and then some."
