CRANBERRY, Pa. -- In advance of the Penguins' preseason game in Detroit against the Red Wings on Monday night, they held a morning skate here at the Lemieux Complex in Cranberry.
Forward Jeff Carter won't play Monday, but during morning skate he did re-join his teammates for the first time since leaving an intra-squad training camp scrimmage on Sept. 24 with an upper-body injury. He was out on the ice in a non-contact fashion and remains day-to-day. Mike Sullivan said Carter is making progress and that he is at "the next level there." Carter's next step will be taking contact in a skate or two before he gets back to game action.
Carter was not made available to the media following morning skate for insight regarding his injury or what caused it.
Goalie Tristan Jarry was originally listed on the Penguins' roster for Monday, but he did not participate in morning skate. Sullivan said he is sick, and will not travel with the team to Detroit. The Penguins will take Filip Lindberg on the trip with them in Jarry's place. Lindberg was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's training camp in the AHL on Sunday.
Casey DeSmith figures to get the start in goal against the Red Wings.
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Teddy Blueger didn't join the team for morning skate, but he did skate on his own prior to the team session. Blueger left practice early last Wednesday and did not return. Sullivan said he remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, but is progressing.
• Forward Jonathan Gruden and defenseman Taylor Fedun also skated on their own prior to morning skate. Both players have been a little banged up since last week and missed a couple of training camp skates. Sullivan said they are day-to-day and that their status hasn't changed.
Gruden and Fedun remain on the Penguins' training camp roster, but in all likelihood will be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton once they're healthy enough to go.
• Here are the lines and D-pairings that were utilized during morning skate:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen - Jeff Carter/Radim Zohorna - Kasperi Kapanen
Brock McGinn - Ryan Poehling/Sam Poulin - Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Jeff Petry
Ty Smith - Jan Rutta
Mark Friedman/Chad Ruhwedel/P.O Joseph rotated in as extras on a fourth-pairing.
• And the power play units:
PP1
Bryan Rust - Sidney Crosby - Jake Guentzel
Kris Letang - Evgeni Malkin
PP2
Jason Zucker - Rickard Rakell - Danton Heinen
Jeff Petry - Ty Smith
Rakell took faceoffs for the second unit but quickly slid over to his station at the left half-wall each time. Zucker was parked at the net-front.
• Following the skate, I asked Poehling how he's felt getting work on the Penguins' penalty-kill.
"It’s different than Montreal, but I like it more," Poehling told me. "I think once I get used to it and more comfortable, which I am, it’s just being more direct and fast, and that’s kind of how I play, so it makes it easy on yourselves and once you get comfortable with the guys you’re out there with, you kind of read off one another and I think that chemistry is kind of working itself out and we’re getting along better, including myself."
• I followed up with Sullivan and asked if he likes what he's seen from Poehling, as well as Kapanen, on the penalty kill.
"Yeah, I think they've been pretty good," Sullivan said. "Once again, we haven't used Kappy on the penalty kill in his time here, so he's trying to pick that up. We're gonna try to get him involved in the penalty kill this year. Potentially, he could help us with some of his skill sets. And I think Ryan is a cerebral player. He's a good penalty-killer, and he's a guy, potentially, that could help us there as well. We're killing differently than he's used to, so there's going to be a little bit of a process in him picking up the concepts, but I think both of them are doing pretty well so far."
• Zohorna is currently on has been claimed off waivers by the Flames. Taylor Haase has more on that here.
• Even though he's already been cut from the training camp roster, Sullivan thought Drew O'Connor had a really good camp as well. O'Connor figures to be one of the first forwards -- if not the first -- recalled when the inevitable injury bug hits during the season.
• This probably isn't news to you, but Rakell just has an absolute laser of a one-timer. At the end of the skate, several players were practicing one-timers with skills coach Ty Hennes. When it was Rakell's turn, he clapped several pucks to the very top of the net before ripping one off the elbow pipe that flew all the way back out to the blue line. Archibald's jaw dropped in awe.
